Afghan Taliban negotiators in Islamabad to discuss peace talks

Afghan Taliban negotiators have arrived in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad to discuss possibility of talks with the Afghan government, sources familiar with the visit said on Monday.

The sources have not confirmed if the three-member team of the Qatar-based Taliban political office will be meeting with the representatives of the Afghan government.

Pakistan had hosted the first face-to-face meeting of the Taliban and Afghan government in July last year, but the process was scuttled after the death of Taliban leader Mullah Omar was confirmed.

Afghan Taliban have not officially said anything about the visit.

The Taliban political representatives arrived at a time when Afghan President Ashraf Ghani urged Pakistan to take action against the Taliban.

The Taliban refused to take part in the negotiations last month under the quadrilateral group of Pakistan, Afghanistan, China and the United States.

"It is a major development that the Taliban have arrived in Islamabad to discuss options for the negotiations," a source said.

Source: XINHUA