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KABUL – High-stakes peace talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan ended without a breakthrough on Tuesday, dashing hopes of easing weeks of deadly border clashes that have pushed the two neighbours to the brink of war.
Mediated by Turkey and Qatar, the Istanbul round was aimed at cementing a lasting truce following fierce cross-border violence earlier this month — the worst since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021. Both sides had agreed to a temporary ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but negotiators failed to bridge sharp differences, with each blaming the other for the impasse.
Pakistani officials accused the Taliban of refusing to curb the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), which Islamabad claims is orchestrating attacks from inside Afghanistan. Afghan representatives, in turn, said they had “no control” over the TTP, and described the exchanges as “tense and unproductive.”
The latest clashes were triggered by Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul and other Afghan locations earlier this month, targeting the TTP leadership. The Taliban retaliated with assaults on Pakistani military posts along the 2,600-kilometre border.
The breakdown has alarmed regional powers, including the United States, and raised fears that the fragile ceasefire could collapse. Pakistan’s defence minister warned over the weekend that if diplomacy failed in Istanbul, “open war” could follow.
Despite the ceasefire, Pakistan’s army reported on Sunday that five soldiers and 25 militants were killed in renewed fighting near the Afghan border.
