Amid ongoing hostilities with Afghanistan, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Saturday that a high-level delegation — led by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif — would hold discussions with a delegation from the neighbouring country today in Doha.
“The talks will focus on immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism against Pakistan emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the Pak-Afghan border,” it said.
“Pakistan does not seek escalation but urges the Afghan Taliban authorities to honour their commitments to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by taking verifiable action against terrorist entities,” it said.
“Pakistan appreciates the mediation efforts of Qatar and hopes these discussions contribute to peace and stability in the region,” the FO said.
Earlier, Zabiullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban government, had also confirmed that talks between the two countries would take place in the Qatari capital.
In a post[1] on social media platform X, Mujahid said, “As it was promised that negotiations would be held with the Pakistani side, a high-level delegation of the Islamic Emirate, led by the Minister of Defence Maulvi Sahib Muhammad Yaqub Mujahid, left for Doha today.”
Reports from Afghanistan suggest that the Taliban delegation would also include intelligence chief, Mullah Wasiq, besides the defence minister.
Minister says Pakistan carried out precision strikes in Afghanistan last night
Meanwhile, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that Pakistan struck verified camps of the outlawed Gul Bahadur group in border areas of North and South Waziristan districts along the Pak-Afghan border.
In a post on X, he said that during the 48-hour ceasefire, terrorists operating from Afghanistan attempted to launch multiple terrorists attacks inside Pakistan, which were effectively countered by security forces.
“During the effective responses by security forces, more than 100 kharjis were sent to hell,” he said. He said that terrorist also carried out an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in North Waziristan in which civilians and a soldier were martyred while multiple others were injured.
“Against kharjis of Gul Bahadur Group, precision strikes were undertaken last night. In these precision strikes, [a] minimum [of] 60-70 kharjis and their leadership have been sent to hell based on confirmed intelligence reports,” the minister said.
“All speculations and assertions being made regarding targeting of civilians are false and meant to generate support for terrorist groups operating from inside Afghanistan,” he said.
“Pakistan sincerely believes that [the] path forward lies in resolving this complex issue of Indian-sponsored terrorism emanating from Afghan soil through talks and control of non-state actors by Afghan authorities. However, Pakistan has all the rights to safeguard its territorial integrity and the lives of the people of Pakistan, and we shall not allow terrorists operating from inside Afghanistan to live in peace,” he said.
Pakistan had again targeted[2] terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan on Friday. Incidents were reported from the Angoor Adda region and across Afghanistan’s Urgun and Barmal districts of Paktika province, as security sources claimed that precision strikes were conducted against hideouts of the outlawed Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, reportedly killing dozens of fighters.
The attacks came on the heels of an attack targeting a military installation in North Waziristan, and just hours after Islamabad and Kabul extended[3] a two-day ceasefire.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) also said[4] that it was pulling out of a T20I tri-nations series scheduled to be held in Pakistan next month after alleging that three cricketers were killed in a strike.
The fresh exchanges on Friday night had cast a shadow over the ceasefire, which had been extended just a few hours earlier, as well as the planned Doha talks.
“The ceasefire has been mutually extended by both Pakistan and Afghanistan till the end of the talks in Doha, Qatar. The talks are ready to begin [on Saturday],” a security source said on Friday evening at the conclusion of the initial 48-hour truce, which had been in effect since Wednesday.
The two-day ceasefire was largely observed without violations, but the dialogue initially agreed at the time of its announcement, aimed at addressing what Pakistan’s Foreign Office described as a “complex but solvable issue”, failed to take place during that period.
Earlier in the day, at his weekly media briefing, outgoing Foreign Office spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan reiterated: “Afghanistan has become a central breeding ground for global terrorism.”
He warned the international community against complacency, adding, “We do not have to wait for a big disaster happening at the global scale before we take remedial action. This fire will spread. This has to be stopped.”
No bilateral initiative for talks emerged during the first phase of the truce. However, Qatar, which along with Saudi Arabia had pushed both sides to halt hostilities, offered to host their meeting in Doha. The talks, initially slated for Thursday or Friday, were postponed by a day due to logistical issues and reluctance within the Taliban leadership to engage, sources said.