KABUL: Officials say the head of the Afghan council for peace talks with the Taliban has postponed a trip to Pakistan.

The delay accompanies tensions over cross-border shelling that Afghanistan blames on the Pakistani military.

Salahuddin Rabbani was scheduled to arrive in Islamabad on Wednesday to reach out to Taliban leaders based there. A member of the Afghanistan High Peace Council that Rabbani leads said Wednesday the trip has been postponed for about two weeks.

Ismail Qasimyar said more preparations are needed and did not link the delay to the border issue.

However, another council member, Hameed Mubarez, said ''it is not good'' for Afghan officials to travel to Pakistan because of the dispute.

Pakistan denies deliberately shelling Afghan territory. It says it responds to militant attacks along the border.