Kabul questions Taliban trip to Islamabad

The Afghanistan government has raised questions over a trip by a Taliban delegation from Qatar to Pakistan, the media reported on Friday.

The delegation reportedly arrived in Pakistan this week to address problems faced by Afghan refugees.

The Kabul reaction comes close on the heels of President Ashraf Ghani's speech this week that peace talks between some factions of the Taliban were off the table.

"The Taliban delegation's trip to Pakistan from our prospective is totally questionable. A terrorist group does not have the right to travel to countries. We expect Pakistan to have government-to-government relations with Afghanistan," TOLONews quoted Shahussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for Ghani, as saying.

Kabul has also urged Islamabad to honour its pledge and suppress militants engaged in violence in Afghanistan.

"Action should be taken against the militants involved in terrorist activities from Pakistan's soil in Afghanistan. This is the demand that our allies have as well," said a spokesman for the National Security Council.

--IANS

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