ISTANBUL: The second round of talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban is scheduled to take place tomorrow (Thursday) in Istanbul, Turkey, according to diplomatic sources.
Sources said that Pakistan’s Minister for Defence, Khawaja Asif, may travel to Istanbul if a senior Afghan Taliban minister participates in the meeting.
The final decision regarding the composition and leadership of the Pakistani delegation will be made after assessing the level of representation from the Afghan side.
It has been confirmed that the National Security Adviser (NSA) will be part of Pakistan’s delegation. During the talks, Pakistan is expected to reiterate its demand that the Afghan government prevent the use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities against Pakistan.
The ongoing dialogue aims to reduce tensions between Islamabad and Kabul amid increasing security concerns along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The first round of these talks took place earlier in October, where Pakistan had strongly objected to the alleged sheltering of militants by elements within Afghanistan.
