During the Istanbul talks held between Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Pakistani delegation presented its final position to the Afghan Taliban delegation.
Pakistan made it clear that the ongoing support of terrorists by the Afghan Taliban is unacceptable.
Moreover, the country warned Afghanistan that strong steps must be taken by the Taliban regime to eliminate cross-border terrorism from and within Afghanistan.
According to security sources, the Afghan Taliban appeared to have been pursuing a different agenda which is not in the interest of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
They added that further progress in the talks depends on the Afghan Taliban’s attitude toward the negotiations.
On October 25th, the second round of Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks resumed in Istanbul, Turkey.
The Afghan delegation is being led by Mawlawi Rahmatullah Najeeb, deputy minister at the Ministry of Interior.
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.
