ISLAMABAD / KABUL — Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to restart peace talks in Istanbul following the collapse of earlier negotiations, sources familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The renewed dialogue comes a day after Islamabad declared that the previous round of talks had failed to yield a durable agreement.
Two of the sources said Turkey had intervened to broker the revival of the process, and that both countries’ negotiating teams are already present in Istanbul to work toward preventing a resumption of border clashes that have claimed dozens of lives this month. The key demand Pakistan plans to press is that Afghanistan act decisively against militants operating from Afghan territory who attack Pakistani soil.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of providing sanctuary to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a group that has mounted frequent cross-border assaults against Pakistani forces. Kabul has rejected control over the TTP, arguing that the group operates independently and beyond Taliban oversight.
Earlier this week, the previous round of talks in Istanbul, mediated by Turkey and Qatar, broke down amid mutual accusations. Pakistan insisted that the Taliban must commit to concrete action against militant safe havens, while Afghan representatives countered that they lacked the means to control all actors within their territory. Despite the impasse, both countries had been abiding by a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, though skirmishes continued between Pakistani troops and TTP fighters along the border.
