MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Afghanistan is willing to negotiate with Taliban if the Islamist movement assumes a peaceful track and adheres to the national constitution, otherwise military action will be taken, Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar told Sputnik on Monday.
“If they do not accept our offer for negotiations, military action will be taken… If they say ‘yes’ to peace, we will negotiate. It is now up to them to act,” Atmar said.
He added that he expected Pakistan, China and the United States to retaliate militarily to the fundamentalist group, underscoring the Taliban leader's Pakistani roots.
At the same time, Hanif Atmar confirmed that a senior Pakistani Taliban leader had been killed in a US drone strike in Afghanistan over the weekend.
“One of the leaders was killed. That was Mangal Bagh, [one of] the leaders of Pakistani Taliban. He was killed in a drone attack during the past 24 hours. The American side confirmed it,” Atmar said.
