Afghan delegation in Pakistani capital for talks over bomb attacks

A high-level Afghan delegation has arrived in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, to push for broader action against the Taliban militants across the troubled border region, Press TV reports.

Sayed Zafar Hashemi, a spokesman for the Afghan president, said on Thursday that the delegation, consisting of Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani, Acting Defense Minister Masoom Stanekzai and head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS) Rahmatullah Nabil, is in Islamabad for talks on “concrete action” against the Taliban.

"The Afghan government wants Pakistan to take action against those groups ... (who are) declaring war against Afghan people," Hashemi stated.

Meanwhile, Afghan Foreign Ministry spokesman Shekib Mostaghni confirmed that the Afghan delegation will meet Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his security advisor Sartaj Aziz.

The visit follows an angry speech by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani where he claimed Islamabad was involved in a spate of devastating militant attacks that recently struck the Afghan capital, Kabul.

President Ghani on August 10 alleged that some of the attacks in the Afghan capital were “designed and planned by terrorist groups in Pakistan.”  The Afghan president said “bomb-making factories and training camps” on Pakistani soil continue to send “mercenaries” across the border to kill Afghans.

On Wednesday, the NDS accused some elements within the Pakistani military of being involved in the deadly militant attacks in Kabul over the past week.

On August 7, a string of terrorist attacks struck the US military base of Camp Integrity, an Afghan army compound and an Afghan police academy in Kabul. More than 50 people were killed and hundreds of others were injured in the attacks.

Islamabad denied Ghani’s charges and reiterated that it wants to counter terrorism and promote reconciliation. Prime Minister Sharif said on Tuesday that he wanted "cordial and cooperative" ties with Kabul.

Some Pakistani sources say the Afghan delegation will also seek help from Islamabad to revive suspended peace talks with Taliban in Afghanistan.

Tensions have risen along the Afghan-Pakistani border in recent months over a series of cross-border attacks. 

The relationship between Kabul and Islamabad is traditionally mired in distrust. Kabul blames elements inside the Pakistani spy agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for supporting the Taliban militants, while Islamabad blames the Afghan government for giving refuge to militants on its side of the border.

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