ISLAMABAD, April 30 (Xinhua) -- The Taliban suicide bombing in Kabul on April 19 that killed 64 people and injured nearly 375 has thwarted fresh efforts by Pakistan to broker peace talks between the Afghan government and the insurgent group.
Pakistan's efforts had initially convinced the Taliban to send a delegation of key political negotiators from their office in Qatar primarily for a meeting with Afghan officials.
However, Kabul refused to meet with them as the lethal attack changed the mood in the war-torn country. The Taliban had earlier refused to take part in peace talks in March under the quadrilateral group comprising Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States.
A spokesman for the Taliban's Qatar office, Dr. Muhammad Naeem, formally confirmed the visit on April 27 in a rare statement.
The visit was important because it was the first time the Taliban publicly confirmed their political negotiators were in Pakistan. But the office said the Taliban representatives will only discuss issues related to border affairs, refugees and their prisoners in Pakistan.
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