ISLAMABAD: Islamabad has agreed to extend peace talks with the Afghan Taliban in Istanbul at the request of its hosts, a security official said on Thursday, adding that negotiations would continue on Islamabad’s key demand that Kabul take “clear, verifiable and effective action” against militants using Afghan soil for attacks inside Pakistan.
Talks between representatives from Pakistan and Afghanistan, which were mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, began on Oct. 25 but ended without agreement earlier this week, with Islamabad accusing the Taliban administration of unwillingness to commit to rein in the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), a separate militant group hostile to Pakistan that Islamabad says operates with impunity inside Afghanistan. Kabul denies this and insists it has no control over the TTP, which has launched increasing attacks against Pakistani troops in recent weeks.
Negotiations opened after dozens were killed this month along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the worst such violence since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021. Both nations agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but could not find common ground in a second round of talks.
“On the request of our hosts / friends, Pakistan has agreed to extend the dialogue process. Accordingly, the Pakistani delegation, which was prepared to depart, will now remain in Istanbul to resume the negotiations,” a Pakistani security official said, declining to be named.
