Afghanistan-Pakistan peace talks ‘failed’, Pakistan minister says
The meeting followed Doha-mediated ceasefire discussions triggered by violent clashes between Pakistani and Taliban forces that killed dozens.
The Afghan side kept deviating from the core issue, evading the key point upon which the dialog process was initiated,” Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a statement early on Wednesday.
Both nations agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but could not find common ground in a second round of talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar in Istanbul, Afghan and Pakistani sources briefed on the issue told Reuters on Tuesday, with each blaming the other for the failure.
A Pakistani security source said the Taliban had been unwilling to commit to rein in the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group hostile to Pakistan that Islamabad says operates with impunity inside Afghanistan.
An Afghan source familiar with the talks said they had ended after “tense exchanges” over the issue, adding that the Afghan side said it no control over the Pakistani Taliban, which has launched attacks against Pakistani troops in recent weeks.
The sources sought anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Deadly clashes killed dozens in October
The October clashes began after Pakistani air strikes this month on Kabul, the Afghan capital, among other locations, targeting the head of the Pakistani Taliban.
The Taliban responded with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the 1,600-mile border.
On Saturday, Pakistan’s defense minister said he believed Afghanistan wanted peace but that failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul would mean “open war.”
Despite a ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban, weekend clashes killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 Pakistani Taliban terrorists near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday.
