ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s prime minister will travel to the Gulf state of Qatar next week to talk with government leaders there about moves to broker a peace deal with the Afghan Taliban.
The insurgents last month announced they were setting up a political office in Qatar to facilitate talks.
A spokesman for Prime Minister Yousuf Reza Gilani said on Saturday that the premier would be in Qatar on Monday to discuss the peace process with the government there.
Pakistan is an important player in moves to end the 10-year-old war in Afghanistan because many of the leaders of the insurgency are said to be sheltering on its territory.
The country’s security forces are alleged to have links with the militants that could be useful in bringing them to the negotiating table.
