Pakistan claims Afghanistan talks deadlocked
Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed peace talks with Afghanistan in Istanbul aimed at preventing new border clashes have collapsed.
In an interview with GEO News, Asif said that the ceasefire would only hold if there are no attacks from Afghan territory. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, confirmed on Saturday that the negotiations had broken down.
Islamabad and Kabul began a third round of talks in Türkiye on Thursday in a bid to ease rising tensions after last month’s deadly border clashes. The Istanbul meeting followed the earlier five-day talks in October in Doha that produced a ceasefire.
“There is a complete deadlock. The negotiations have entered an indefinite phase,” Khawaja Asif said, adding that there is “no program for the fourth round of talks.”
The minister thanked Türkiye and Qatar for their efforts to mediate tensions between the two neighboring countries.
“They support our stance. Even the Afghan delegation agreed with us; however, they were not ready to sign a written agreement,” he said, adding that Pakistan would only accept a written accord. “They wanted verbal assurances to be accepted, which is not possible in international negotiations,” he added.
Mujahid said negotiations had failed due to Islamabad insisting that Afghanistan assume responsibility for Pakistan’s internal security, a demand he described as beyond his nation’s “capacity.” However, “The ceasefire that has been established has not been violated by us so far, and it will continue to be observed,” he said.
Afghan and Pakistani troops briefly exchanged fire along the border between their countries on Thursday, both nations said, on the same day peace talks to find a lasting peace restarted in Istanbul.
Each side accused the other of initiating the gunfire near Spin Boldak, a border town in southern Afghanistan along their 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier.
The two South Asian neighbors clashed last month, killing dozens, in the worst violence since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021. The escalation had been attributed to border security and militant activity. Islamabad accused Kabul of sheltering Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters, allegations that the Taliban administration rejects.
