The peace process between Pakistan and Afghanistan is now mired in further uncertainty after talks in Istanbul to broker a sustainable truce failed to reach a resolution, according to Pakistan’s information minister.
The announcement early Wednesday came after state media in each country blamed the other on Tuesday for the lack of agreement in Turkiye on a long-term truce.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 items- list 1 of 4Pakistan says ceasefire hinges on Afghanistan curbing armed groups
- list 2 of 4Pakistan and the Taliban’s uneasy peace
- list 3 of 4Pakistan minister warns of ‘open war’ with Afghanistan if peace talks fail
- list 4 of 4Pakistan says five soldiers and 25 fighters killed in Afghan border clashes
The talks were spurred by tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government over armed groups operating in Afghanistan, which Pakistan claims were responsible for deadly cross-border hostilities earlier this month.
Afghanistan’s Taliban government has repeatedly rejected accusations of harbouring armed fighters and instead accuses Pakistan of violating Afghan sovereignty with air strikes.
Dozens of people have been killed on both sides of the border in the deadliest fighting between the neighbours since the Taliban took power in 2021.
The negotiations followed a ceasefire agreement mediated by Qatar and Turkiye. However, progress towards a long-term peace has now stalled.
Quoting unnamed Pakistani security officials, The Associated Press news agency reported that Turkish mediators were continuing efforts to break the deadlock and allow talks to resume.
Pakistan Television reported that a “last-ditch effort” was being made to resolve the issues.
However, the Reuters news agency reported that the talks had ended without a resolution, according to sources from both sides.
TTP at heart of deadlock
The major sticking point in the negotiations has been Kabul’s reluctance to commit to reining in the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), a separate group from Afghanistan’s Taliban government, which is hostile to Pakistan, according to reports.
Islamabad says that the TTP operates with impunity inside Afghanistan, where its leadership is now based.
Pakistani television reported that the Afghan delegation had “repeatedly agreed to Pakistan’s demand for concrete and decisive action against the TTP and terrorism”, but, following instructions from Kabul, its “stance kept changing”.
An Afghan source familiar with the talks told Reuters that they had ended after “tense exchanges” over the issue, adding that Kabul insisted it has no control over the group.
The Taliban-controlled broadcaster RTA blamed Pakistan for the impasse, saying that Kabul had “made every effort to hold constructive talks”, but that the “Pakistani side does not seem to have this intention”.
Skirmishes over the weekend killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 opponents, Pakistan’s military said on Sunday, describing the fighters killed as “Fitna al-Khwarij”, a term it uses for ideologically motivated armed groups suspected of being backed by foreign sponsors.
The cross-border violence earlier this month has raised alarm across the region, where armed groups like al-Qaeda are trying to resurface.
United States President Donald Trump, who claims to have halted several wars since his return to the White House at the start of the year, said on Sunday that he will solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis “very quickly”.