Interlocutors join as Pak-Afghan talks enter third day in Istanbul

The interlocutors joined the third sitting of the second round of talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul on Monday, with all sides trying to hammer out a solution of the deadly border clashes, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

On the other hand, sources told the 24News TV channel that the Taliban’s response was not very encouraging as despite giving assurances to Pakistan that they would take concrete steps against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), they were reluctant to give these assurances in writing, which had complicated the situation.

Consequently, they added, negotiations between both sides had so far failed to produce any results. On Sunday, talks between both the sides continued for 13 hours.

During the last two days of talks, the Pakistani delegation has made it clear to Afghan officials that there will be “no compromise” on Islamabad’s demands related to “cross-border terrorism”, security sources said.

The talks in Istanbul, which began on Saturday, mark the latest attempt by Pakistan and Afghanistan to prevent a relapse into violence after deadly border skirmishes between the neighbours this month killed dozens of people.

Clashes erupted between the neighbours earlier this month after Pakistan conducted airstrikes on Kabul following the killing of a dozen Pakistani soldiers. The skirmishes and strikes continued intermittently before a ceasefire was reached in Doha on Oct. 19. Pakistan has repeatedly urged Afghanistan to rein in militants on its soil and prevent them from carrying out attacks against it. Kabul denies the allegations. 

In the talks held in Istanbul so far, Islamabad presented its “final position” to the Afghan side that the “ongoing patronage of terrorists by the Afghan Taliban is unacceptable”, the security sources said. Islamabad demanded Kabul take “concrete, verifiable” steps against militant groups, mainly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). 

“The Pakistani delegation has made it clear that no compromise is possible on our core demands on cross-border terrorism,” the security sources said.

They further said the “stubbornness, lack of seriousness and non-cooperative attitude” of the Afghan Taliban was “getting evident” to other participants of the dialogue as well, especially to Turkiye. “The host country interlocutors are making all-out efforts to bring the Taliban delegation to understand realities, acknowledge evidence and cooperate seriously so that the talks can be fruitful,” the sources added. 

Meanwhile, Afghanistan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid was quoted by state broadcaster Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) as saying that Kabul was awaiting the outcome of the discussions. “Mujahid emphasized that the Islamic Emirate believes in resolving issues through dialogue,” the RTA said. 

The RTA reported that the Afghan delegation presented a draft of its proposals to the Pakistani delegation in Istanbul on Sunday night. The draft emphasizes that Pakistan must respect Afghanistan’s land and airspace and prevent any group or opposition from conducting activities against Afghanistan, the RTA reported. 

“It also proposes the establishment of a quadrilateral channel to exchange information on violations and conduct assessments to ensure follow-up on the ceasefire agreement,” the Afghan state broadcaster said. 

Tensions between the two sides rose on Sunday night after Pakistan’s military said five soldiers and 25 TTP militants were killed in two separate engagements near the country’s border with Afghanistan.

Reporter: Anwar Abbas/Agencies