The security forces has said that Pakistani delegation is scheduled to leave for Doha on Saturday to hold peace talk with Afghan Taliban regime on the request of Qatar tomorrow morning. The security sources said in this regard the news of a foreign news agency that the Pakistani delegation is present in Doha is baseless.
Pakistan will hold talks with the Afghan Taliban in Qatari capital of Doha as the 48-hour ceasefire has been extended on Friday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel. The Taliban regime changed its negotiation team after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) refused to grant them permission for travel abroad.
The Taliban delegation will now be led by Defence Minister Mullah Yaqoob. It is necessary to mention here that Taliban government had requested for the talks after the temporary ceasefire.
Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Islamabad was ready to hold talks with Afghanistan to resolve their conflict, as a temporary ceasefire that halted days of fierce fighting between the former allies largely held.
The South Asian neighbours engaged in ground fighting and Pakistan launched airstrikes across their contested frontier, killing scores of terrorists and wounding hundreds before agreeing to a 48-hour truce from 1300 GMT on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told his cabinet in Islamabad that Pakistan had "retaliated" as it ran out of patience with Afghanistan following a series of militant attacks.
"If they want to talk on our valid conditions and want to resolve through dialogue we are ready for that," Shehbaz Sharif said, adding: "This message was given to them yesterday. Now the ball is in their court."
"If this ceasefire is done just to buy time, we will not accept it," he made it crystal clear.
Reporter Anwer Abbas