Pakistan declares failure of ceasefire negotiations with Afghanistan

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 29 (YPA) – Pakistan announced on Wednesday that negotiations of a permanent ceasefire with Afghanistan failed to produce any practical solution, warning that it would not hesitate to take the necessary steps to protect its citizens.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar added in a post on the X that the four-day negotiations, mediated jointly by Qatar and Turkey in Istanbul, did not yield any guarantees from the Afghan side.

He also stated that the Afghan side did not provide any guarantees, continued to deviate from the core issue, and resorted to blame-shifting, evasion, and trickery… Consequently, the dialogue failed to reach any practical solution.

There was no immediate comment from Afghanistan on this statement.

Reuters reported on Tuesday that talks between Islamabad and Kabul in Istanbul, aimed at achieving a long-term ceasefire, had ended without an agreement.

In this context, Afghan and Pakistani sources familiar with the matter stated that the two sides agreed to the ceasefire reached in Doha on October 19th, but failed to find common ground in a second round of talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar in Istanbul. Each side blamed the other for the impasse.

The talks aimed to achieve lasting peace between the two countries after dozens were killed on their border in the worst such violence since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2011.

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