Pakistan ‘welcomes’ second round of US-Taliban talks

Pakistan has "welcomed" a second round of talks between the United States and the Taliban since the latter's takeover of Afghanistan earlier this year, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) spokesperson said.

Addressing a weekly press briefing in capital Islamabad on Thursday, MoFA spokesman Asim Iftikhar reiterated his country's position that the world community needs to engage with the Taliban's government.

 "[The US-Taliban talks] would be welcome development, as we have been saying, encouraging and advocating enhanced engagement of the international community with Afghanistan in order to help address its challenges," said Iftikhar.

US Special Representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan Tom West will arrive in the Qatari capital Doha for two days of talks with Taliban officials next week, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Tuesday.

Price said the agenda for talks would be the US's "vital national interest" in Afghanistan, which "includes counterterrorism, that includes safe passage for US citizens and for Afghans to whom we have a special commitment, and that includes humanitarian assistance and the economic situation of the country".

On Thursday, the Afghan foreign ministry confirmed that a delegation led by acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi had left for Doha for the talks.