Peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan failed on Friday (6th November) after multiple rounds of negotiations in Istanbul, Turkiye. Speaking to the media on Saturday (8th November), Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid blamed Pakistan’s “irresponsible and non-cooperative attitude” for the collapse of the peace talks. Mujahid said that the negotiations between the countries failed due to Islamabad’s insistence that Afghanistan should assume responsibility for Pakistan’s internal security, which Afghanistan sees as beyond its “capacity”.
“During the talks, the Pakistani side attempted to refer all responsibilities regarding its security to the Afghan government, while at the same time it did not demonstrate any willingness to assume responsibility for either Afghanistan’s security or its own,” said Mujahid. However, he added that the ceasefire between the countries would continue. “The ceasefire that has been established has not been violated by us so far, and it will continue to be observed,” the Taliban spokesman added.
Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, announced the failure of peace talks on Friday (7th November), adding that the ceasefire would continue as long as there are no attacks from Afghan soil. The announcement regarding the failure of the peace talks came after the Taliban said that many Afghan civilians were killed and several others were wounded in a confrontation with Pakistani forces along the border. As per reports, a brief exchange of fire happened between Afghan and Pakistani forces along the border on Thursday (6th November), the same day peace talks resumed in Istanbul.
Pakistan’s grievance with the Taliban is that it failed to keep its commitments made with the international community under a 2021 Doha peace accord, which included combating “terrorism”. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of harbouring terrorist groups like the Pakistan Taliban (Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan or TTP), an allegation denied by the Taliban. Pakistan holds the TTP responsible for several attacks in its territory. In retaliation for the alleged attacks carried out by the TTP in Pakistan, the country launched several airstrikes in Afghanistan last month.
The two countries have gone through phases of violent confrontations and peace negotiations over the last month. On 9th October, Pakistan carried out an airstrike in Kabul, which kick-started its military hostilities with Afghanistan. The Afghan forces launched a retaliatory attack on the 11th October, targeting multiple Pakistani military sites along the Durand Line. They seized several border checkpoints in the neighbouring country, killing 58 soldiers, wounding 30 others and destroying 20 outposts, as confirmed by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. On the other hand, the Pakistani Army claimed that over 200 Taliban fighters and their affiliates were slain in the fierce overnight battle and added that 23 of its soldiers also died.
Subsequently, a ceasefire was agreed to by both countries in Doha on 19th October after a round of negotiations brokered by Turkiye and Qatar. The current peace talks in Istanbul were the third round of the peace negotiations that failed.
