Pakistan, Afghan Taliban strike deal to boost trade along the border

Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed government have agreed to boost trade and lower tensions along their border amid a surge in militant attacks on security forces, officials said Monday (May 8).

Pakistan and Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed government have agreed to boost trade and lower tensions along their border amid a surge in militant attacks on security forces, officials said Monday (May 8).

Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Afghanistan’s Taliban-appointed foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, struck the deal Sunday in Islamabad, according to Pakistan's Foreign Ministry. The agreement is designed to improve bilateral trade, combat terrorism and boost bilateral ties.

Local media reported that Muttaqi on Monday urged Pakistani authorities to consider holding talks with the Pakistani Taliban, who are a separate group. There was no immediate response from Islamabad. But earlier talks hosted by the Afghan Taliban in Kabul had proved futile. Since then, Pakistan has said there will be no talks with the militants known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.