The second round of Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks has resumed in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Afghan delegation is being led by Mawlawi Rahmatullah Najeeb, deputy minister at the Ministry of Interior.
The first round took place in Doha on October 18-19.
Pakistan is expected to seek concrete and verifiable commitments from the Afghan side to eliminate the threat of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from its territory,
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said that Pakistan does not seek escalation but urges the Afghan Taliban authorities to honour their commitment to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by taking verifiable action against terrorist entities.
Khawaja Asif about Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks
Pakistan’s defence minister said that he believes Afghanistan wants peace but that failure to reach an agreement during talks in Istanbul would mean “open war,” days after both sides agreed to a ceasefire following deadly border clashes.
Khawaja Asif said there had been no incidents in the four to five days since it was agreed, and both sides were complying with the truce.
Pakistan also supports establishing a third-party oversight structure, potentially co-chaired by Turkiye and Qatar, to verify progress and address non-compliance.
Earlier this month, Pakistan and Afghanistan had a deadly clash at the border after Afghanistan accused Pakistan of attacking first, a claim Pakistan denied.
Pakistani authorities blamed the Afghan Taliban for opening fire on a Pakistani military post and nearby areas, which triggered the clashes and wounded Pakistani civilians.
