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peace talks between Pakistan And afghanistan In istanbul Officials said on Saturday that both sides were blaming each other for the failure of talks aimed at reducing border tensions and maintaining the fragile ceasefire.
Tensions have risen in recent weeks after deadly fighting along the border that left dozens of soldiers and civilians dead. Violence erupted after the blasts Kabul On October 9, Afghanistan’s Taliban government called the drone strikes carried out by Pakistan and vowed revenge. After this the clashes subsided Queue A ceasefire took place on 19 October, which still stands.
Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid blamed Pakistan for the failure of the talks, writing on Twitter that “despite the good intentions of the Islamic Emirate and the efforts of the mediators, no result was achieved due to the irresponsible and uncooperative attitude of the Pakistani delegation.”
Mujahid reiterated that Afghanistan “will not allow anyone to use its territory against another country, nor allow actions that undermine its sovereignty or security.”
Conversation ends without progress
The two-day talks in Istanbul, brokered by Turkey and Qatar, were the third round of peace talks that were seen as one of the most significant diplomatic efforts between the two neighbors since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021. Despite intensive back-channel diplomacy, officials said discussions stalled late Friday without any concrete progress.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told private Geo News channel late on Friday that “talks are over” and the Pakistani delegation was returning home with “no plans for any future meeting”. He said the ceasefire would continue until “it is violated by the Afghan side.”
Pakistan has repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers of harboring Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a terrorist group responsible for a surge in attacks inside Pakistan since 2021. Kabul denies the accusation, saying it does not allow its territory to be used against other countries.
Clashes continue
The talks failed overnight when Afghan officials reported that four civilians were killed and five others were wounded in cross-border clashes despite ongoing talks.
Asif said the Afghan delegation came “without any programme” and refused to sign a written agreement, insisting only on verbal assurances. “They said they would honor the verbal agreement, but there is no room for that,” he said. “There are no plans or expectations for a fourth round of talks. The talks have stalled indefinitely.”
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s military said it carried out air strikes on Pakistani Taliban positions inside Afghanistan, killing dozens of people it said were insurgents. Afghan officials denied the claim and said the dead included civilians, and said Afghan forces had retaliated by attacking Pakistani military posts, killing 58 soldiers. The Pakistan Army admitted to losing 23 soldiers in the fighting.
The violence prompted Qatar to invite delegations from both sides to Doha, where they agreed to a ceasefire on 19 October. This was followed by six days of talks in Istanbul, which resulted in agreement to extend the ceasefire and hold a third round on 6 and 7 November – talks which ultimately failed to achieve any breakthrough.
border closed
Since then, Pakistan has kept all its border crossings with Afghanistan closed, although it partially reopened the main Torkham crossing last week to allow stranded Afghan refugees to return home.
The shutdown, imposed on October 12, has disrupted vital trade and transit routes and left thousands of people stranded. Hundreds of trucks loaded with goods are stuck on both sides of the border, cutting off one of the busiest economic arteries linking South and Central Asia.
Along with border restrictions, Pakistan is waging a nationwide campaign to deport undocumented foreigners, the majority of whom are Afghans. Officials say more than one million Afghan citizens have been sent back under the repatriation campaign since 2023.
Pakistan has also seen an increase in terrorist attacks, many of which have been claimed by the TTP, which is designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the United Nations. Although separate from Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, the TTP is closely associated with it and has grown emboldened since the Taliban captured Kabul in 2021.