Pakistan To Hold Talks With Afghanistan In Qatar

Pakistani State Television announced talks with Afghanistan in Qatar on Saturday, after Pakistan launched air strikes on Afghanistan killing at least 10 people. The strike broke the 48-hour ceasefire which was agreed upon by both nations. 

"Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief General Asim Malik will be heading to Doha today for talks with the Afghan Taliban," Pakistan state TV said, AFP reported. 

An official in the Afghan Taliban government also confirmed that the talks will be held in Qatar.

"A high-level delegation from the Islamic Emirate, led by Defense Minister Mohammed Yaqub, left for Doha today," Afghan Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.

The two-day ceasefire had briefly paused the week-long conflict until Pakistan launched air strikes later into Friday night. "Pakistan has broken the ceasefire and bombed three locations in Paktika province, a senior Taliban official told news agency AFP, adding "Afghanistan will retaliate."

At least three local Afghan cricketers were also killed during the strikes, the Afghanistan Cricket Board announced. It also said it was withdrawing from the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan, scheduled for next month.

United States president Donald Trump on Friday also claimed to solve eight wars so far and indicated that the ongoing conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan will be an "easy one" for him to solve. He made the remarks while speaking to reporters at the White House. 

Tensions began with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups led by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) -- the Pakistani Taliban -- on its soil, a claim Kabul denies.