Pakistan sends 50-member team to Kabul to discuss cease-fire

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s government has sent a 50-member delegation of tribal elders to Kabul to negotiate an extension of a truce with the Pakistani Taliban. That’s according to two Pakistani security officials. Talks between the two sides that led to past cease-fires have been mediated by the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP — are a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban. They have been behind numerous attacks in Pakistan over the past 14 years. Wednesday’s development comes after the latest cease-fire expired this week. However, none of the cease-fires have paved the way for a more permanent peace agreement.