Pakistan-Afghanistan Peace Talks Collapse

Talks aimed at ensuring a long-term truce between Afghanistan and Pakistan concluded in Istanbul without a “workable solution”, Pakistan’s information minister said on Wednesday, in a blow for peace in the region after deadly clashes this month.

Pakistan and Afghanistan had been holding peace talks in Istanbul since Saturday to reach a lasting peace between the South Asian neighbours after dozens were killed along their border in the worst such violence since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021.

“The Afghan side kept deviating from the core issue, evading the key point upon which the dialogue process was initiated,” Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a statement early on Wednesday.

“Instead of accepting any responsibility, the Afghan Taliban resorted to blame game, deflection and ruses. The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution,” he said.

Both nations agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but could not find common ground in a second round of talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar in Istanbul.

The October clashes began after Pakistani air strikes this month on Kabul, the Afghan capital, among other locations, targeting the head of the Pakistani Taliban.

The Taliban responded with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the 2,600-km (1,600 miles) border.

On Saturday, Pakistan’s defence minister said he believed Afghanistan wanted peace but that failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul would mean “open war”.

Despite a ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban, weekend clashes killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 Pakistani Taliban militants near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday.