Pakistani security source says Afghanistan talks 'likely' to resume

ISLAMABAD

Pakistan and Afghanistan will likely hold another round of peace talks in Istanbul, a Pakistani security source told AFP on Oct. 30, after Islamabad's announcement that previous negotiations had failed.

The talks come in the wake of the deadliest clashes between the South Asian neighbors since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

More than 70 people were killed and hundreds wounded in violence that erupted after explosions in Kabul on Oct. 9, which the Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan.

The two sides had held days of talks in Istanbul, until Islamabad said on Oct. 28 that the negotiations had collapsed.

"On the request of the Afghan Taliban regime, another round of talks between Pakistan and Kabul is likely to take place in Istanbul," said the source.

Pakistan state broadcaster PTV said Islamabad agreed to resume the talks at the request of the hosts.

Afghan state-run broadcaster RTA also reported on Oct. 30 that the "stalled negotiations... are set to resume in Istanbul under the mediation of Türkiye and Qatar.”

RTA laid the blame for the talks' collapse on "unreasonable demands of the Pakistani side.”

Relations between the one-time allies, who share a 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier, have deteriorated in recent years.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring militant groups that stage cross-border attacks, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says uses Afghan territory as a base.

The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations.

A ceasefire remains in place, but the border between the two countries has been closed for more than two weeks, biting into the earnings of conflict-weary traders.