Impasse leaves Afghanistan-Pakistan peace talks mired in uncertainty

Three days of negotiations successful Istanbul neglect to output breakthrough, but some sides support ceasefire is holding.

The bid process betwixt Pakistan and Afghanistan is mired successful uncertainty aft the brace reportedly failed to find a breakthrough during 3 days of negotiations successful Istanbul.

State media successful each state blamed the different connected Tuesday for the deficiency of statement connected a long-term truce successful Turkiye. The talks were spurred aft tensions betwixt Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers implicit equipped groups operating successful the second resulted successful deadly cross-border hostilities earlier this month.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 4Pakistan says ceasefire hinges connected Afghanistan curbing equipped groups
• list 2 of 4Pakistan and the Taliban’s uneasy peace
• list 3 of 4Pakistan curate warns of ‘open war’ with Afghanistan if bid talks fail
• list 4 of 4Pakistan says 5 soldiers and 25 fighters killed successful Afghan borderline clashes

Dozens person been killed connected some sides of the borderline successful the deadliest warring betwixt the neighbours since the Taliban took powerfulness successful 2021.

The negotiations followed a ceasefire agreement mediated by Qatar and Turkiye. However, advancement towards a semipermanent bid appears to person stalled.

It was not wide connected Tuesday day whether the talks had concluded oregon would proceed into a 4th day. However, it was reported that the delegations from some countries remained successful Istanbul.

Quoting unnamed Pakistani information officials, The Associated Press quality bureau reported that Turkish mediators were continuing efforts to interruption the deadlock and let talks to resume.

Pakistan Television reported that a “last-ditch effort” was being made to resoluteness the issues.

However, the Reuters quality bureau reported that the talks had ended without a resolution, according to sources from some sides.

TTP astatine bosom of deadlock

The large sticking constituent successful the negotiations has been Kabul’s reluctance to perpetrate to rein successful the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), a abstracted radical from Afghanistan’s rulers that is hostile to Pakistan, according to reports.

Islamabad says ,the TTP operates with impunity wrong Afghanistan, wherever its enactment is present based.

Pakistan Television reported that the Afghan delegation had “repeatedly agreed to Pakistan’s request for factual and decisive enactment against the TTP and terrorism”, but, pursuing instructions from Kabul, its “stance kept changing”.

An Afghan root acquainted with the talks told Reuters that they had ended aft “tense exchanges” implicit the issue, adding that Kabul insisted it has nary power implicit the group.

Taliban-controlled broadcaster RTA blamed Pakistan for the impasse, saying Kabul had “made each effort to clasp constructive talks”, but that the “Pakistani broadside does not look to person this intention”.

Afghan defence minister, Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid, and Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif signed a ceasefire statement successful Doha connected October 19 (File: Reuters]

Both sides said the ceasefire is holding contempt the impasse, and contempt sporadic clashes betwixt Pakistani troops and TTP fighters on the border.

Skirmishes implicit the play killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 opponents, Pakistan’s subject said connected Sunday, describing the fighters killed arsenic “Fitna al-Khwarij”, a word it uses for ideologically motivated equipped groups suspected of being backed by overseas sponsors.

The cross-border unit earlier this period was the deadliest warring betwixt Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban took powerfulness successful the second successful 2021. It raised alarm crossed the region, wherever equipped groups similar al-Qaeda are trying to resurface.

United States President Donald Trump, who claims to person halted respective wars since his instrumentality to the White House astatine the commencement of the year, said connected Sunday that helium volition lick the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation “very quickly”.