Pakistan says peace talks with Afghanistan are deadlocked despite mediation

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Peace talks in Istanbul between Pakistan and Afghanistan were at a deadlock on Friday, a day after both sides accused each other of mounting border clashes that risked breaching a ceasefire brokered by Qatar.

The update on the talks by Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar came after an Afghan official said four Afghan civilians were killed and five others wounded in clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces along their shared border despite the joint negotiations.

There was no immediate comment from Kabul about the Pakistani claim. Pakistan’s state media reported that the Pakistan delegation is leaving for the airport to return home. Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also told Pakistan’s independent Geo news channel that “as we speak, the talks are over.”

Asif said the ceasefire will remain in tact until there is no breach of it from the Afghan side.

In a statement thanking Turkey and Qatar for mediating the talks, Tarar maintained that the Afghan Taliban has failed to meet pledges it made with the international community about curbing terrorism under a 2021 Doha peace accord.

Tarar said that Pakistan “will not support any steps by the Taliban government that are not in the interest of the Afghan people or neighboring countries.” He did not elaborate further, but added that Islamabad continues to seek peace and goodwill for Afghans but will take “all necessary measures” to protect its own people and sovereignty.

Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of the Information and Culture Department in Afghanistan’s Spin Boldak district, blamed Pakistan for initiating the overnight shooting, but said Afghan forces did not respond due to the peace talks in Istanbul.

However, a tense calm largely prevailed along the Chaman border in southwest Pakistan, where the two sides briefly exchanged fire Thursday night, with both sides blaming the other.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi on Friday said Afghanistan initiated the shooting. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said late Thursday on social platform X that “the shooting was initiated from the Afghan side, but the situation was brought under control.”

The ministry said a ceasefire brokered by Qatar on Oct. 19 remained intact.

Andrabi said Pakistan’s national security adviser Lt. Gen. Asim Malik is leading the Pakistani delegation in the talks with Afghanistan. The Afghan side is being led by Abdul Haq Wasiq, director of general intelligence, according to Mujahid.

Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of harboring Pakistani militants who carry out cross-border attacks, a charge Kabul denies.

Tensions have remained high since last month, when deadly border clashes erupted, killing dozens — including soldiers, civilians and suspected militants — and wounding hundreds on both sides. The fighting began after explosions in Kabul on Oct. 9 that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan and vowed to avenge.

The violence, the worst between the neighbors in recent years, subsided after Qatar brokered a ceasefire.

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent months, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP — a group designated as a terrorist organization by the United Nations and the United States.

Though separate, the TTP is closely allied with the Afghan Taliban. Many of its leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, further straining ties between the two countries.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Abdul Qahar Afghan contributed to this story from Kabul, Afghanistan.