Turkish delegation due in Pakistan to try to revive Afghanistan talks

Turkish delegation due after Islamabad blast

The delegation is due later this week, Al Jazeera reported. The blast at the entrance of the district court in Islamabad on Tuesday led Defence Minister Khawaja Asif to call the attack a "wake-up call" and "a war for all of Pakistan" in a post on X. Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry condemned the Islamabad explosion and an attack in Wana in a statement.

Two rounds of talks in Istanbul failed to turn the ceasefire into a longer-term deal. The second round ended on 30 October with all parties agreeing to continue the ceasefire, Turkey's Foreign Ministry said, and a follow-up high-level meeting was set for Istanbul on 6 November to decide how the mechanism would be implemented.

How the ceasefire began

Qatar's Foreign Ministry said the two sides agreed an immediate ceasefire in Doha on 18-19 October, after a week of deadly border fighting that was the most serious confrontation between the neighbours since the Taliban returned to power in 2021. The Istanbul talks were meant to build on that truce.

The truce has not stopped all fighting. Pakistan's military said skirmishes over the weekend killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants, even as delegations met in Istanbul. Both sides said the ceasefire was holding despite sporadic clashes.

Border trade remained restricted. Pakistan reopened the Chaman crossing for Afghan transit trade after the ceasefire, but pedestrian movement there stayed suspended and regular trade and pedestrian traffic remained suspended at Torkham, Daily News Egypt reported. Pakistan later partially reopened Torkham to let stranded Afghan refugees leave, with restrictions on all other movement including trade, the Associated Press reported; the closure had lasted nearly three weeks.

The UN mission in Afghanistan said the violence killed at least 50 Afghan civilians and wounded 447 others in one week. Pakistan's military reported on 12 October that 23 of its personnel were killed and 29 wounded, without specifying civilian casualties on its side. Afghan officials said 58 Pakistani soldiers died in the clashes, more than double Pakistan's figure.

The TTP demand that stalled Istanbul

Pakistan's central demand is that Afghanistan take clear, verifiable and effective action against militant groups, according to Pakistani state television. The main sticking point has been Kabul's reluctance to commit to reining in the Pakistan Taliban (TTP), which Islamabad says operates with impunity inside Afghanistan.

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in a Reuters interview on 20 October that "Everything hinges on this one clause". Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the talks failed because Islamabad insisted Afghanistan assume responsibility for Pakistan's internal security, a demand he described as beyond Afghanistan's capacity. He said the ceasefire had not been violated by the Taliban side and would continue to be observed.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan's army chief, told tribal elders in Peshawar on Thursday that Pakistan seeks peace with its neighbours but will not tolerate cross-border terrorism from Afghan soil.