【By Observer News, Chen Sijia】 Pakistan and Afghanistan started a new round of talks in Istanbul, Turkey last week, but the negotiations did not make any progress. On October 29 local time, Pakistan announced that the dialogue "did not reach any feasible solution" and accused Afghanistan of "playing tricks".

According to the Dawn newspaper on the 30th, Pakistani military sources said that at the request of the Turkish host, Pakistan agreed to resume talks with Afghanistan. The sources said that the Pakistani delegation, originally scheduled to return home, will extend their stay in Istanbul, restarting the negotiation process "to give peace another chance".

The sources emphasized that the discussion would focus on Pakistan's core demands, namely requiring the Afghan Taliban government to take "clear, verifiable and effective actions" against terrorist organizations operating within its territory. They said Pakistan would reiterate that it must prevent terrorists from using Afghan territory to attack Pakistan.

On October 12, Pakistani soldiers patrolling the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Visual China

The Dawn reported that the purpose of the Istanbul talks was to finalize a monitoring mechanism to prevent cross-border terrorism. Pakistan's core agenda includes clearing known "Taliban in Pakistan" strongholds, arresting or expelling key figures, and setting schedules and standards for measurable actions such as raids, arrests, and destruction of strongholds.

Other priorities include requiring Afghanistan to commit not to provide shelter to hostile organizations, strengthen border control, and hold regular meetings to check compliance. Pakistan also hopes to establish a third-party monitoring mechanism, possibly chaired jointly by Turkey and Qatar, to monitor the implementation of related commitments.

Afghan Dawn news website also cited sources on the 30th, saying that under the mediation of Qatar and Turkey, the Afghan and Pakistani delegations agreed to resume negotiations, and the Pakistani delegation, which had originally planned to return home, has restarted the negotiation process.

On October 25 local time, Pakistan and Afghanistan began a new round of talks in Istanbul. However, on October 29, Pakistan's Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Khan Tarar, announced that the dialogue "did not reach any feasible solution".

Tarar said that Pakistan has repeatedly contacted Afghan authorities regarding the cross-border activities of terrorist groups such as the "Taliban in Pakistan" and the "Balochistan Liberation Army", but Afghanistan did not make clear guarantees on combating these terrorist groups.

"Pakistan provided sufficient and irrefutable evidence, which was acknowledged by the Afghan Taliban and the host country of the dialogue. Unfortunately, the Afghan side did not make any guarantee," Tarar said. "The Afghan side kept deviating from the core issues and avoided the key points of initiating the dialogue process. The Taliban is unwilling to take any responsibility, instead shifting blame, changing the subject, and playing tricks. Therefore, no feasible solution was reached in the dialogue."

Pakistan's Defense Minister Khawaja Asif also issued a strong statement on social media on the 29th. He claimed, "I can assure you, Pakistan does not even need to use a small part of its entire arsenal to completely destroy the Afghan Taliban government and drive them back to the caves."

The Afghan Taliban government has not yet responded to Pakistan's statements. However, an Afghan source told Dawn News on the 29th that Pakistan proposed "unacceptable demands" for Afghanistan, including requiring the Afghan government to designate the TTP as a terrorist organization and take action against it. Disagreements on several final terms led to the breakdown of the talks.

In recent days, armed conflicts have frequently occurred in the border areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan. On October 15, both the Pakistani and Afghan governments separately issued statements announcing a temporary 48-hour ceasefire. On October 18, under the mediation of Qatar and Turkey, Pakistan and Afghanistan held talks in Doha, Qatar, and both sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire and to establish mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries.

This article is exclusive to Observer News. Reproduction without permission is prohibited.

Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7566968361729425960/

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