Pakistan and Afghanistan resume peace talks in Istanbul after deadly border clashes

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan were in talks in Turkey on Thursday in an effort aimed at ensuring peace along their shared border, state-run media in Pakistan reported.

Deadly border clashes that erupted last month between the two countries killed dozens of people, including soldiers, civilians and suspected militants, and wounded hundreds on both sides.

The fighting began after explosions in Kabul on Oct. 9 that the Taliban government blamed on Pakistan, vowing retaliation. The violence only stopped after Qatar brokered a ceasefire on Oct. 19, which remains in place.

Pakistan’s state-run TV reported that they two sides are meeting in Istanbul in the presence of mediators.

As talks were underway in Istanbul, Islamabad and Kabul accused each other of breaching the ceasefire. Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistani forces had opened fire near Spin Boldak, a border town in southern Afghanistan.

In a post on X, Mujahid said the Taliban forces did not respond “out of respect for the negotiating team and to prevent civilian casualties.”

Pakistan, however, rejected the Afghan allegation. The Ministry of Information said in a post on X that the shooting was initiated from the Afghan side, “to which our security forces responded immediately in a measured and responsible manner.” It said the “situation was brought under control due to responsible action by Pakistani forces and the ceasefire remains intact. Pakistan remains committed to ongoing dialogue and expects reciprocity from Afghan authorities.”

Relations between the neighbors have deteriorated in recent years, with Islamabad accusing Afghanistan’s Taliban government of turning a blind eye to Pakistani militants who launch cross-border attacks and carry out acts of bomb and gun attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations, saying it does not allow anyone to use Afghan soil for attacks against any country, including Pakistan.

On Wednesday, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif said a government delegation has traveled to Istanbul to take part in the third round of talks, focused on a single agenda: ensuring that Afghan territory is not used for attacks inside Pakistan.

In Kabul, government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told RTA that the Afghan delegation is led by Abdul Haq Wasiq, director of general intelligence. The Pakistani delegation, he said, is headed by Lt. Gen. Asim Malik, Pakistan’s spy chief and national security adviser – though Islamabad, in keeping with policy, has not publicly identified its representatives.

Qatar and Turkey are facilitating the dialogue to prevent a conflict in a region where militant groups, including al-Qaida, Islamic State group and others are trying to resurface.

Despite the cease-fire, all major border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan remain closed to trade and civilian movement. The crossings were shut on Oct. 12, though Pakistan has partially reopened two of them to allow Afghan refugees to return home.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said last week that reopening the crossings for trade and travel would depend on improvements in security along the border, which was closed after attacks on trade convoys from the Afghan side.

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in militant violence in recent months, most of it claimed by the Pakistani Taliban – known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, long listed as a terrorist group by the United Nations and the United States.

TTP is a separate group but closely allied to the Afghan Taliban. Many of its leaders and fighters are believed to be sheltering in Afghanistan since the Taliban’s return to power there in 2021. That has further strained ties between the two sides, and Pakistan’s military recent said that it targeted TTP hideouts inside Afghanistan after its patience ran out following a string of deadly attacks on the country’s security forces and civilians.

In 2022, Kabul had brokered a brief ceasefire between TTP and Pakistani authorities, but the Pakistani Taliban later unilaterally ended that truce, accusing Pakistan’s military of violating it. Since then, Pakistan has said there will be no talks with TTP and demanded Kabul hand over TTP members to Pakistan if it cannot rein in them.

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Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros in Athens, Greece, contributed to this report.