KABUL: Taliban officials have claimed Pakistan was putting pressure on insurgents to open talks with the Afghan government, British news agency Reuters reported.
Reuters quoted a Taliban source as saying that Iran and Qatar were supporting Taliban’s way, but Islamabad was saying what the Afghan government and the United States wanted.
Taliban have refused to talk to the Afghan government, which they dismiss as a puppet regime backed by foreign powers.
Reuters quoting another senior Taliban leader as saying Pakistani authorities arrested and later released senior Taliban leader Hafiz Mohibullah, who has been closely involved in talks the US, this week from Peshawar, this underlines a push by Islamabad to pressure insurgents to open talks with Afghan government.