A deadlock between Pakistan and Afghanistan persists as the Kabul administration has not given an \u201cencouraging response,\u201d a Pakistani security official said on Tuesday, as both neighbors engage in peace talks in Istanbul. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been holding peace talks since Saturday in Istanbul after the two countries engaged in the worst fighting in decades, leaving dozens dead and several wounded earlier this month. Clashes erupted after Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Kabul earlier this month as it went after the Pakistani Taliban that Islamabad alleges operate from sanctuaries in Afghanistan. The Taliban responded with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the 2,600 km (1,600 miles) contested border. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire in Doha on Oct. 19, mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, and agreed to hold talks in Istanbul on Oct. 25 to hammer out a lasting truce. Pakistan has sought assurances from Afghanistan that it would not let militants, especially the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit, operate from its territory. Kabul wants Islamabad to respect its territorial sovereignty and refrain from carrying out strikes against it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Pakistani delegation has repeatedly emphasized that acceptance of these demands serves everyone\u2019s interests,\u201d a Pakistani security official, requesting anonymity, said. \u201cHost countries have also conveyed the same message to the Afghan side. However, the Kabul administration has given no encouraging response, causing a deadlock.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The official said the Afghan delegation recognizes the validity of Pakistan\u2019s demands but is \u201cnot fully willing\u201d to accept them. He said the Afghan delegation is repeatedly consulting the Kabul administration and acting on its instructions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt would be fair to say the delegation is being controlled from Kabul,\u201d the official said, adding that the Pakistani delegation\u2019s position remains \u201clogical, firm and vital for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Afghan state broadcaster Radio Television of Afghanistan (RTA) said in a report on Monday that \u201cmost issues have been resolved\u201d between Pakistan and Afghanistan during the ongoing talks, with a few points expected to be finalized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, in its latest report, the RTA said the Afghan delegation attempted to have \u201cresult-oriented\u201d discussions with Islamabad but the Pakistani side remains \u201cunwilling to engage seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cReports indicate that certain circles within the Pakistani military establishment are obstructing the negotiation process,\u201d the RTA said. \u201cAs a result, the Pakistani delegation has demonstrated incompetence and seems inclined to withdraw rather than present substantiated arguments at the negotiating table.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said Kabul\u2019s stance during the talks has remained that it cannot prevent attacks inside Pakistan nor represent the TTP, describing it as an \u201cinternal issue rooted in Pakistan\u2019s own past and must be resolved by Islamabad itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Islamic Emirate has reaffirmed that Afghanistan\u2019s territory will not be used against any other country and has called on all sides to put forward balanced, logical, and reasonable demands,\u201d the state broadcaster said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the two sides engage in talks in Istanbul, tensions remain high at the border. Clashes between Pakistan and the Pakistani Taliban over the weekend killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A deadlock between Pakistan and Afghanistan persists as the Kabul administration has not given an \u201cencouraging response,\u201d a Pakistani security official said on Tuesday, as both neighbors engage in peace talks in Istanbul. Delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan have been holding peace talks since Saturday in Istanbul after the two countries engaged in the worst […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":648,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-647","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"category-pakistan"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":649,"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647\/revisions\/649"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qeyadat.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}