The talks in Istanbul aimed at securing a lasting ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan ended without a “workable solution”, Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The aim of the talks was to achieve lasting peace between the South Asian neighbors after dozens were killed along their border in the worst violence since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021.
“The Afghan side has been constantly deviating from the main issue, avoiding the key point on which the dialogue process was launched”, said Pakistan's Minister of information.
„Instead of taking any responsibility, the Afghan Taliban resorted to blame games, diversions, and subterfuge. "Thus, dialogue has not produced a workable solution," Tarar added.
The two countries agreed to a ceasefire reached in Doha on October 19 but failed to reach a common ground in a second round of talks in Istanbul, brokered by Turkey and Qatar, Afghan and Pakistani officials told Reuters, each blaming the other for the failure.
A Pakistani security official said the Taliban were unwilling to commit to reining in the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group hostile to Pakistan that Islamabad says operates with impunity in Afghanistan.
The Afghan official said the talks ended after a "tense exchange" on the issue, adding that Kabul had said it had no control over the Pakistani Taliban.