Pakistan Seeks Security Guarantees from Afghan Taliban
Mediators in Istanbul are debating Pakistan’s requests to put an end to cross-border terrorism with the Afghan Taliban.
As efforts continue to secure an agreement before the scheduled conclusion of the ongoing talks, Turkish and Qatari mediators are still in talks with the Afghan Taliban delegation on Pakistan’s set of demands, particularly to end cross-border terrorism, officials and diplomatic sources said on Friday.
The two-day talks, which started yesterday and are taking place in Istanbul’s Conrad Hotel with limited media access, are the third round of talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban after border violence last month.
They are intended to put a stop to international terrorism and complete a framework for tracking and confirming counterterrorism pledges. Both nations’ intelligence chiefs are in charge of their respective teams.
The negotiations could go until today if necessary, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.
FO briefing Spokesman for the Foreign Office in Islamabad At today’s weekly media conference, Tahir Hussain Andrabi informed reporters that the Pakistani delegation had made a thorough and fact-based case to the mediators.
“With the sole goal of ending cross-border terrorism, the Pakistan delegation has given the mediators its evidence-based, justified, and logical demands,” Andrabi stated.
“Based on our side’s evidence and the principles and principles of international law, the mediators fully supported Pakistan’s position.” He continued, “They are now going over Pakistan’s demands with the Afghan delegation point by point.”
“Progress is encouraging” Separately, those with knowledge of the situation called the conversations’ current state “encouraging,” pointing out that “an understanding may be achieved on some outstanding points.”
They did, however, issue a warning that consensus on verifiable enforcement against terrorist organisations was still difficult.
Pakistan has put pressure on the Afghan Taliban to separate from the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and take decisive action against anti-Pakistan groups operating from Afghan soil, according to people familiar with the talks.
According to the sources, Islamabad has requested a clear directive from Kabul, specifically pledging to distance itself from the TTP.
Since the talks resumed on Thursday morning, the mediators have been primarily engaged with the Afghan side to reach an agreement. “Interlocutors are working with mediators to achieve a balanced understanding,” an Afghan source noted.
Potential areas of convergence reportedly may include counterterrorism cooperation and border security protocols, but persistent mistrust and Kabul’s ambiguous stance on the TTP continue to pose challenges to a lasting deal.
Border clashes and talks
Talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban follow weeks of shuttle diplomacy after deadly border clashes last month plunged relations between the two neighbours to their lowest point since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
On the evening of October 11, an attack from Afghanistan on Pakistan marked the start of hostilities. The incident came after the Taliban claimed that Pakistan had launched airstrikes into Afghanistan; Islamabad has neither acknowledged nor refuted this claim.
Islamabad, for its part, has always insisted that the Taliban prevent terrorist organisations from utilising their territory against Pakistan. The claim that the Taliban permit terrorists to operate from Afghan territory is refuted.
In the meantime, Pakistan has experienced numerous security force losses in intelligence-based operations and is still struggling with the problem of terrorism.
There were many skirmishes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after the first one on October 11. Meanwhile, Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan were also the target of Islamabad’s operations.
The two sides eventually convened for talks in Doha after a truce was decided upon on October 15 in the evening. Representatives from Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have held two rounds of negotiations since the October 11–15 skirmishes, first in Doha and subsequently in Istanbul, but a definitive agreement has not yet been reached.
Following the Doha negotiations, the two parties agreed to meet again in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for long-term peace and stability between the two nations, while a temporary truce persisted to prevent border violence.
The second round of negotiations between the two parties started in the Turkish capital on October 25. However, in a post on X on October 29, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar declared that the negotiations “failed to bring about any workable solution.”
Additionally, he declared that Pakistan would keep doing everything within its power to shield its people from terrorists.
But mediators Turkiye and Qatar stepped in and saved the dialogue process; on October 31, Turkiye released a joint statement saying that “further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided” before a principal-level conference in Istanbul on November 6.
Delegations from both parties gathered in Istanbul on Wednesday for the third session, which is being mediated jointly by Turkiye and Qatar.
After a brief gunfight at the border that put the precarious ceasefire to the test, the negotiations started yesterday.
At the Chaman-Spin Boldak crossing, a cross-border gunfight resulted in the deaths of two Pakistani citizens, including a lady.
