Pakan says peace talks with Afghanan are deadlocked despite mediation  | World News

Peace talks in anbul between Pakan and Afghanan were at a deadlock on Friday, a day after both sides accused each other of mounting border clashes that risked breaching a ceasefire brokered Qatar. The update on the talks Pakan’s Information Miner Attaullah Tarar came after an Afghan official said four Afghan civilians were killed and five others wounded in clashes between Pakani and Afghan forces along their shared border despite the joint negotiations. Pakan’s state media reported that the Pakan delegation is leaving for the airport to return home. Pakan’s Defense Miner Khawaja Asif also told Pakan’s independent Geo news channel that “as we speak, the talks are over.” Asif said the ceasefire will remain intact until there is no breach of it from the Afghan side.
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In a statement thanking Turkey and Qatar for mediating the talks, Tarar maintained that the Afghan Taliban has failed to meet pledges it made with the international community about curbing terrorism under a 2021 Doha peace accord. Tarar said that Pakan “will not support any steps the Taliban government that are not in the interest of the Afghan people or neighboring countries.” He did not elaborate further, but added that Islamabad continues to seek peace and goodwill for Afghans but will take “all necessary measures” to protect its own people and sovereignty.

In Kabul, Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also thanked Turkey and Qatar for hosting and mediating the anbul talks, saying on Saturday that the Afghan representatives “participated in good faith and with appropriate authority,” hoping for constructive engagement from Pakan. However, in a statement he said the discussions did not produce tangible results, citing differences over security responsibilities. He reiterated that Afghanan “will not allow anyone to use its territory against another country,” and affirmed that the Islamic Emirate “will firmly defend the people and land of Afghanan against any aggression, with the help of Allah and the support of its people.”

Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of the Information and Culture Department in Afghanan’s Spin Boldak drict, blamed Pakan for initiating the overnight shooting, but said Afghan forces did not respond due to the peace talks in anbul. However, a tense calm largely prevailed along the Chaman border in southwest Pakan, where the two sides briefly exchanged fire Thursday night, with both sides blaming the other.

Pakan’s Foreign Minry spokesman Tahir Andrabi on Friday said Afghanan initiated the shooting. Pakan’s Minry of Information said late Thursday on social platform X that “the shooting was initiated from the Afghan side, but the situation was brought under control.” The minry said a ceasefire brokered Qatar on Oct. 19 remained intact.

Andrabi said Pakan’s national security adviser Lt. Gen. Asim Malik is leading the Pakani delegation in the talks with Afghanan. The Afghan side is being led Abdul Haq Wasiq, director of general intelligence, according to Mujahid. Pakan has long accused Afghanan’s Taliban government of harboring Pakani militants who carry out cross-border attacks, a charge Kabul denies.

Tensions have remained high since last month, when deadly border clashes erupted, killing dozens, including soldiers, civilians and suspected militants, and wounding hundreds on both sides. The fighting began after explosions in Kabul on Oct 9 that the Taliban government blamed on Pakan and vowed to avenge.

The violence, the worst between the neighbours in recent years, subsided after Qatar brokered a ceasefire. Pakan has seen a sharp rise in militant attacks in recent months, most claimed the Pakani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakan, or TTP, a group designated as a terror organisation the United Nations and the United States.

Though separate, the TTP is closely allied with the Afghan Taliban. Many of its leaders and fighters are believed to have taken refuge in Afghanan since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, further straining ties between the two countries.