Saudi Crown Prince likely to meet Afghan Taliban in Pakistan

Peshawar: Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is likely to meet Afghan Taliban representatives in Pakistan during his visit to the nation which starts on Sunday said Pakistani government sources said.

Neighboring country Pakistan has been playing a vital role in the Afghanistan peace talks amid U.S’s plans to pull out its troops from Afghanistan soil, News18 reports.

Not only Pakistan but several other Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia has been part of the peace negotiations.

According to two senior Pakistani officials, the Saudi crown prince was likely to meet Afghan Taliban representatives in Islamabad.

“Though it is top secret so far, there are strong indications representatives of the Afghan Taliban will meet Prince Salman during their visit of Pakistan on February 18,” one of the Pakistani officials in Islamabad said.

Meanwhile, a senior Taliban leader in Qatar expressed no firm decision on the meet up has been so far.

“Actually meeting Prince Salman is not in the plan so far but we can discuss it when we are in Islamabad,” said the Taliban representative.

Both Pakistan’s Foreign Office and Saudi Arabia’s government have not yet responded to Reuters request for comment.