Pakistan’s ANF arrests 10 suspects in drug smuggling operations
The Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) of Pakistan arrested 10 individuals involved in drug smuggling in operations across the country, said a statement.
An Afghan government spokesman on Monday said that the Taliban “must” accept a ceasefire ahead of any peace talks,
He further said that without it, there would be no negotiations.
“Without a ceasefire, we will not reach a long-lasting peace, a peace with dignity. And a reduction of violence is not practical,” TOLO News reported citing Sediq Sediqqi, a spokesman for the Presidential Palace, as saying.
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According to an informed source, the Taliban have prepared a plan for the reduction of violence was “are not ready to announce any ceasefire before the peace talks with the Afghan government”.
A source with knowledge of the peace talks said that the US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad has been in Qatar over the past week and has held an informal meeting with the Taliban deputy leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, reports TOLO News.
Khalilzad will visit Kabul soon to share the Taliban’s plan for the reduction of violence with Afghan government leaders, the sources added.
Last year, in December, Khalilzad held talks with Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on the Afghan peace process.
Before arriving in Pakistan, Khalilzad further said that talks with the Taliban were paused due to the attack on Bagram’s military base north of Afghan capital Kabul that killed two civilians and injured over 70 others.
Earlier, Pakistan warned against “the role of spoilers” to harm the Afghan peace process.
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