Afghanistan-Pakistan Negotiations In Istanbul Deadlock

JAKARTA - Negotiations between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Istanbul to mediate a long-term ceasefire have ended without resolution.

This news was informed by two sources familiar with the matter on Tuesday, October 28, reported by Reuters. This is a blow to peace in the region after the deadly clashes this month.

The negotiations aim to achieve lasting peace between the two neighboring countries in South Asia after dozens of people died along their borders in the worst violence since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021.

The two agreed to a ceasefire mediated in Doha on October 19, but were unable to find common ground in the second round of negotiations mediated by Turkey and Qatar in Istanbul, according to Afghan and Pakistani sources familiar with the matter, blaming each other for the failure.

A Pakistani security source said the Taliban were not willing to commit to controlling the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group hostile to Pakistan that Islamabad says operates with impunity in Afghanistan.

Afghan sources familiar with the negotiations said the negotiations ended after a "stressy debate" over the matter, adding that Afghans said they had no control of the Pakistani Taliban, which had launched attacks on Pakistani troops in recent weeks.

The sources asked for their identities to be kept secret because they were not authorized to speak in public.

A spokesman for the government and the Afghan Taliban Ministry of Defense, as well as a spokesman for Pakistan's military, defense and foreign ministries, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Clashes in October began after Pakistan's airstrikes this month in Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, among other locations, targeting Pakistani Taliban leaders.

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

The failure of negotiations that have attracted the attention of US President Donald Trump could worsen the ceasefire between Taliban-controlled Afghanistan and nuclear-armed Pakistan.

On Saturday last week, Pakistan's defense minister said he believed Afghanistan wanted peace but the failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul would mean an "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.