Afghan Taliban Urged to Join Peace Talks Without Conditions

ISLAMABAD—Pakistan has urged Afghanistan’s Taliban not to require conditions for direct peace talks with the Afghan government.

“The basic message [to the Taliban] would be that many of the preconditions that they are putting forward can come as a result of the negotiation and not in advance, like prisoners exchange and freedom of movement [of Taliban leaders] et cetera,” said Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister’s adviser on foreign affairs, at a news conference in Islamabad Tuesday.