Pakistani, Taliban officials to meet in Doha for truce talks
Border clashes over the past week have reportedly killed hundreds of Afghan and Pakistani troops combined
Peace talks will take place between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Qatari capital, Doha, Al-Mayadeen reported on 16 October, citing a source in the Taliban government.
A delegation from the Taliban government in Kabul is scheduled to leave for Doha within the next few hours for the talks.
Afghan and Pakistani officials will discuss extending a 48-hour ceasefire reached between the two sides on Wednesday.
The ceasefire announcement came after renewed fighting overnight on Tuesday killed at least 12 and wounded dozens in a remote border area spanning southeastern Afghanistan's Spin Boldak district and Pakistan's Chaman district.
Both sides traded blame for the clashes.
At least five people were killed and 35 others wounded in explosions in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Tuesday, before the truce came into effect. Women and children were among the injured.
Over the weekend, Afghan forces targeted several Pakistani border posts, allegedly killing 58 Pakistani soldiers. Pakistan, in turn, claimed it had killed 200 Afghan fighters.
The Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in a statement that both sides "will make sincere efforts through dialogue to find a positive solution to this complex issue, which remains solvable."
At the same time, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed that Afghanistan had ordered its forces to adhere to the ceasefire, provided the other side does not commit any aggression.
Al-Jazeera's correspondent at the Torkham crossing on the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan called the latest fighting a "serious escalation" that could "lead to something much bigger."
"The population on both sides is wary of the new round of escalations," the correspondent said.
The clashes followed explosions in the Afghan cities of Kabul and Paktika that the Taliban blamed on Pakistan on 9 October.
Islamabad denied the charge, saying its operations target only Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) elements, which it accuses Kabul of sheltering.
An unnamed Pakistani security source told Reutersthat the strike in Kabul targeted TTP leader Noor Wali Mehsud.
The TTP, created in 2007 after Pakistan's military operations in its tribal areas during the US invasion of Afghanistan, has waged a prolonged insurgency against the Pakistani state.
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