ISLAMABAD: A deadlock between Pakistan and Afghanistan persists as the Kabul administration has not given an “encouraging response,” a Pakistani security official said on Tuesday, as both neighbors engage in peace talks in Istanbul.
Delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been holding peace talks since Saturday in Istanbul after the two countries engaged in the worst fighting in decades, leaving dozens dead and several wounded earlier this month.
Clashes erupted after Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Kabul earlier this month as it went after the Pakistani Taliban that Islamabad alleges operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. The Taliban responded with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the 2,600 km (1,600 miles) contested border.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in Doha on Oct. 19, mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, and agreed to hold talks in Istanbul on Oct. 25 to hammer out a lasting truce. Pakistan has sought assurances from Afghanistan that it would not let militants, especially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit, operate from its territory. Kabul wants Islamabad to respect its territorial sovereignty and refrain from carrying out strikes against it.
