Pakistan, Afghan Taliban Resume Peace Talks In Istanbul

Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban resumed peace talks in Istanbul on Thursday, seeking to address cross-border terrorism and prevent further escalation between the two sides.

Violence along the frontier flared on October 11, producing casualties on both sides. Pakistan claimed that at least 206 Afghan Taliban and 110 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan operatives were killed, while Pakistan suffered the loss of 23 soldiers. A ceasefire was agreed on October 15 and was extended during talks held on October 19 in Doha and October 25 in Istanbul.

The temporary truce remains in effect, but hostile exchanges continue on social media and in official statements from both parties. Observers say the Istanbul talks nearly collapsed until Turkiye intervened, resulting in an agreement to hold another round; delegations from both sides arrived in Istanbul on Wednesday.

Geo TV reported that the third round formally began today. The talks are being facilitated jointly by Turkiye and Qatar. Pakistan’s delegation is led by Lt Gen Asim Malik, director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence and national security advisor, and includes senior figures from the military, intelligence agencies and the Foreign Office.

The Afghan Taliban’s team comprises General Directorate of Intelligence chief Abdul Haq Waseq, Deputy Interior Minister Rehmatullah Najib, spokesperson Suhail Shaheen, Anas Haqqani, Qahar Balkhi, Zakir Jalali and Afghanistan’s chargé d’affaires in Ankara. The sessions are expected to run for two days.

Following the previous round, Turkey’s foreign ministry issued a joint statement saying that “all parties have agreed on continuation of ceasefire” and “to put in place a monitoring and verification mechanism that will ensure maintenance of peace and impose a penalty on the violating party”. It added that “the principals” from both sides would reconvene in Istanbul on November 6 to discuss implementation.

Pakistan has consistently insisted that Afghan territory must not be used to launch attacks against it. Earlier this week, Pakistani military spokesman Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused Kabul of harbouring TTP fighters and said that stopping attacks from Afghan soil was a non-negotiable demand.

Chaudhry described the TTP as a “branch of the Afghan Taliban” and accused the group of relocating fighters into populated areas to shield them from strikes. He warned that if talks fail to resolve the issue, Pakistan reserves the right to take action and would respond to any attack “with full force.”

With PTI inputs