The third round of peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan ended in deadlock, with Kabul blaming the impasse on Islamabad’s “irresponsible and non-cooperative” approach, officials said on Saturday.
Representatives from both sides met in Turkiye on Thursday, which extended into Friday, in a bid to secure a ceasefire between the two sides after recent border clashes that killed dozens of people on both sides.
Taliban official spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, blamed Islamabad for the deadlock, saying the Pak delegation wanted to shift the entire blame of security lapses on Afghanistan.
“During the negotiations, the Pakistani delegation attempted to shift all responsibility for its security failures onto the Afghanistan government, while showing little interest in taking responsibility for its own actions,” he said.
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“Despite the continued deadlock in talks, the ceasefire will still hold,” he added, saying “there is no issue” with the ceasefire, for which he thanked Qatar and Turkey for their roles in the mediation.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Defence Minister, Khawaja Asif, said in an interview that aired late on Friday evening that “talks between the two sides are already over without agreement.”
He also confirmed that the ceasefire would continue to hold until the Afghans breached it.
Pakistan’s Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, had asserted on Thursday that “Pakistan shall continue to exercise all options necessary to safeguard the security of its people and its sovereignty”.
Deadly clashes between the Pakistani military and Afghan Taliban forces erupted last month, marking the start of a conflict between the neighbours, the first since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
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