ISLAMABAD – Delegations from Afghanistan and Pakistan are set to meet in Doha, Qatar, aiming to resolve a severe crisis that has erupted between the two nations. In recent weeks, intense clashes have led to significant casualties, with dozens dead and hundreds wounded on both sides.
On Saturday, the Taliban government announced that its delegation would be led by the defense minister and the national intelligence agency’s chief. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s team was expected to depart on the same day, as reported by the national broadcaster PTV, although no additional details were provided.
The two countries have been locked in a blame game, each accusing the other of initiating hostilities. Pakistan alleges that Afghanistan is providing sanctuary to militants launching attacks along their shared border, a claim the Taliban vehemently denies.
A temporary 48-hour ceasefire, meant to halt the escalating violence, ended on Friday evening. Shortly after, Pakistan reportedly conducted strikes across the border.
According to Pakistani security officials, these strikes targeted areas in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province, specifically the districts of Urgun and Barmal.
The officials, who spoke under the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information, stated that the operations were aimed at hideouts belonging to the militant Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. They claimed the air raids resulted in the deaths of numerous fighters, emphasizing that no civilians were harmed.
One said the operation was a direct response to the suicide bombing of a security forces compound in Mir Ali, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province a day earlier.
But Afghan officials said the aerial assaults killed at least 10 civilians, including women and children. The attacks prompted the national cricket board to boycott an upcoming series in Pakistan.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, condemned the “repeated crimes of Pakistani forces and the violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.”
Such acts were deemed provocative and viewed as “deliberate attempts” to prolong the conflict, he added.
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Associated Press writers Abdul Qahar Afghan in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Sajjad Tarakzai in Islamabad, and Riaz Khan, in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
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