Representatives from Afghanistan and Pakistan held peace talks in Istanbul on November 7. However, they failed to reach a peace agreement.
The Associated Press writes about this.
The two-day talks in Istanbul, brokered by Turkey and Qatar, were the third round of peace consultations and were seen as one of the most important diplomatic initiatives between the two neighbors since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Despite active informal diplomacy, officials reported that discussions had reached a dead end without any real outcome.
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told Geo News that “the talks are over” and that the Pakistani delegation was returning home “with no plans for future meetings.” He added that the ceasefire would remain in place until violated by the Afghan side.
According to him, Afghanistan allegedly demanded a verbal agreement and refused to sign documents.
An Afghan government spokesman rejected Asifʼs statement and blamed Pakistan for the failure of the talks, saying that "Pakistanʼs demands during the talks were unreasonable, so the meeting ended and the talks are currently at an impasse".
Afghanistan-Pakistan conflict
Late in the evening of October 11, Afghan Taliban forces attacked the border areas of Pakistan. There were skirmishes using various types of weapons, including artillery.
The so-called 201st Army Corps of the Taliban military units claimed responsibility for the attack. The Taliban themselves say the attack is a response to the Pakistani militaryʼs "violation of Afghanistanʼs sovereignty", which came shortly after Pakistan launched an airstrike on Kabul.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have reported the deaths of dozens of soldiers from both sides in fierce fighting along their shared border.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring Taliban militants who attack Pakistani territory with the support of India. Delhi rejects these accusations. The escalation occurred against the backdrop of a visit by the Afghan Foreign Minister to India.
On October 19, a delegation from Pakistan signed a ceasefire agreement at a meeting with Taliban representatives in the capital of Qatar.
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