KABUL — Taliban and Pakistan have agreed to resume peace talks in Istanbul after earlier negotiations ended without success, three sources familiar with the discussions told Reuters on Thursday.
According to the sources, the decision to restart talks came at the request of Turkey, which is hosting the meetings. Negotiation teams from both nations are already in Istanbul in a bid to prevent renewed border clashes that have killed dozens of people this month.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Islamabad intends to emphasize its primary demand, that the Taliban take action against militants allegedly using Afghanistan to stage attacks on Pakistan.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a separate militant group fighting against the Pakistani state. Taliban, however, denies the claim, saying it does not control the group’s actions.
This month’s border violence marked the deadliest fighting between the two neighbours since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021. The clashes erupted following Pakistani airstrikes targeting TTP leaders in Kabul and other locations, prompting retaliatory attacks on Pakistani military posts along the Durand Line.
A ceasefire brokered by Qatar in Doha on October 19 temporarily halted the fighting, but a second round of talks, mediated by Turkey and Qatar in Istanbul, broke down earlier this week.
Despite the truce, reports of continued skirmishes between Pakistani forces and the TTP have continued, with casualties reported on both sides in recent days.
