Pakistan 'decides' to participate in Doha talks on Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has decided to participate in the talks on Afghanistan in Doha, Qatar, kicking off on June 30, ARY News reported quoting diplomatic sources.

According to sources, Pakistan’s Special Representative for Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, and Assistant Secretary for Western Asia at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmad Naseem Warraich, will leave for Doha in the next few days and will represent Pakistan in the talks.

The third round of Doha talks, hosted by the United Nations, will begin on June 30 and will last for two days.

The Afghan interim government will also participate in the talks, marking a significant development in regional efforts to address the Afghan conflict, sources added.

For the first time, special representatives from around the world will sit face-to-face with Afghan Taliban representatives. Diplomats and special representatives from 25 countries are expected to participate in the talks, which will be attended by the UN Secretary-General and special representatives.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres first convened envoys on Afghanistan from various countries in May last year to work on a unified approach to dealing with the Taliban authorities. The Taliban were not invited.

The Taliban then refused to attend the second Doha meeting in February, when the U.N. rejected its demand to act as Afghanistan’s sole official representative, Guterres said.