Peace gets another chance as Pakistan, Afghanistan restart talks in Istanbul

Published: 11:24 AM, 30 Oct, 2025
Featured News, Pakistan
Peace gets another chance as Pakistan, Afghanistan restart talks in Istanbul
Caption: Afghan refugees along with their belongings on trucks await deportation to Afghanistan near the Chaman border.–AFP

Pakistan and Afghan delegations have resumed their peace talks in Istanbul in presence of the mediators in an attempt to find a solution to the cross-border terrorism, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

The talks which went under way on Thursday were restarted on the request of mediators following Taliban regime’s insistence, although the previous four days of marathon negotiations had failed to yield any result.

Pakistan state broadcaster PTV said Islamabad agreed to resume the talks at the request of the hosts.

Afghan state-run broadcaster RTA also reported Thursday that the "stalled negotiations... are set to resume in Istanbul under the mediation of Turkey and Qatar".

Earlier, Pakistan agreed to resume peace talks with Afghanistan in Istanbul aimed at finding a way to pursue the Taliban regime in Kabul to stop supporting the terrorists launching attacks inside Pakistan.

Quoting sources, the 24News TV channel reported that the Pakistani delegation which was about to board a return flight home went back to its hotel in Istanbul.

"On the request of the Afghan Taliban regime, another round of talks between Pakistan and Kabul is likely to take place in Istanbul," said the source.

By restarting the dialogue process, the sources maintained, it was decided to give peace another chance.

However, the negotiations will focus on Pakistan’s original demand asking Afghanistan to take clear, verifiable and effective action against terrorists.

On Wednesday, Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar had announced that after four days of long, intense discussions between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul, aimed at ending a tense and violent standoff at border, had ended in failure.

In a message posted on social media platform X, Attaullah Tarar blamed the Afghan delegations for the failure of the talks, accusing them of resorting to “deflection and ruses”.

“The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution,” he wrote.

Mediated by Qatar and Türkiye, the negotiations followed an initial round of dialogue in Doha, which produced a temporary ceasefire on October 19 after a week of fighting that left dozens dead.

Hours later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned Afghanistan’s Taliban regime of strong retaliation if any terrorist attack on its soil originates from Afghan territory.

Khawaja Asif issued a blunt warning in a statement posted on X, saying the Afghan Taliban had probably misread Pakistan’s “resolve and courage” by not agreeing to address its security concerns. “Any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures,” Mr Asif said. “Be rest assured and test our resolve and capabilities, if you wish so, at your own peril and doom.”

He warned the Taliban of severe consequences if Pakistan was provoked. “Pakistan does not require employing even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding,” he said. “If they wish so, the repeat of the scenes of their rout at Tora Bora … would surely be a spectacle to watch for the people of the region.”

As Mr Asif issued his warning, seven militants were killed and six Pakistani soldiers were martyred in a Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) bombing and ambush on a military convoy in Kurram district on Wednesday.

Reporter Ahmad Mansoor

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