Kabul, Islamabad to hold military delegation-level talks today

A spokesman for the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Ahmad Shekib Mustaghni said that Pakistani military delegation is set to visit Kabul on Tuesday for talks with Afghan officials.

Mustaghni said the officials from the Ministry of Defense of both countries will discuss common threats, the fight against insurgency and other issues, reports Tolo News.

During the visit, the officials will also set a date for the next meeting between the two sides.

The meeting comes after Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in an interview with a Pakistani media outlet said his country's biggest problem is the state-to-state relationship with Islamabad.

On being asked whether he thought state-to-state relation problems with Pakistan was a bigger problem than that of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda or other terrorist groups.

Ghani replied, "Yes, absolutely. Those are threats. This is a fundamental solution (to those threats) because there are sanctuaries. Can anybody deny that there are Taliban offices in Quetta? You go and interview with them; if you want the addresses, I will give you all the addresses... Of course, I can give you the addresses. Our corps commander went and gave, and asked to take a ride corps commander of Quetta to give them the addresses. They are openly recruiting. They are financed. Their logistic and supplies, and sanctuary is against international rules."

"Trust needs to be established. We need to be assured that Pakistan is not going to give sanctuary to groups whose aim is (to) overthrow of a legitimate government. You cannot have it both ways. We tried that. I overcame years of distrust, years of discord; I came with an open mind and an open heart," he added.

Following the development, Sartaj Aziz, the adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Foreign Affairs said that Islamabad will bring the Taliban to the tables of negotiations in the upcoming two or three weeks.