Last-ditch effort underway to salvage talks with Kabul despite Taliban’s ‘stubbornness’: security sources

A last-ditch effort is underway to salvage ongoing talks between Islamabad and Kabul, despite the Afghan Taliban’s “stubbornness”, security sources said on Tuesday.

A second round of talks between the two sides had begun on Saturday in Istanbul. This followed the Pakistan-Afghanistan talks mediated jointly by Qatar and Turkiye in Doha on October 18-19, which had resulted in a permanent ceasefire after days of intense border clashes.

The Qatar talks had come after days of fighting along the Pak-Afghan border and strikes by Islamabad on Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan. The agreement reached in Doha extended an initial 48-hour truce and resulted in a permanent ceasefire, as well as a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.

“On the third day, the talks continued for 18 hours. During the 18 hours, the Afghan Taliban delegation repeatedly agreed to Pakistan’s logical and legitimate demand for credible and decisive action against the TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) and terrorism,” a well-placed security source said.

They added that while the Afghan delegation acknowledged the central issue, its position changed due to “instructions received from Kabul”.

The security sources termed the “illogical and illegal advice received from Kabul” responsible for the “failure of the talks”. They affirmed that Pakistan and the hosts wanted to resolve the “complex issues in a very thoughtful and serious manner”.

“A last-ditch effort is still underway, despite the Taliban’s stubbornness, to somehow resolve this issue through logic and talks and the talks are moving towards a final round,” the security official said.

Earlier, sources familiar with the closed-door discussions said that while “most of the points had been mutually agreed between the two sides”, the mechanism for verifiable action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory, particularly the outlawed TTP, continued to be the main sticking point.

The atmosphere earlier yesterday had been markedly positive, with participants des­c­­ribing “encouraging progress” and “serious engagement” from both delegations.

However, by nightfall, it appeared that the process had once again hit a roadblock. According to the participants, the Afghan Taliban delegation continued to resist putting anything in writing, especially on the issue of providing verifiable guarantees to end support for the TTP.

“We kept hoping that we would be able to sign a mutual document with Afgha­nistan soon, followed by a joint statement, but it still remains out of our reach,” one source said yesterday.

“The hosts understand Pakistan’s concerns,” one Pakistani official said, “but people in Kabul and Kandahar are not willing to commit“.

“It is a difficult phase,” another source admitted, reflecting the growing sense of frustration within the room as stalemate persisted.

“The Afghan side has made it clear that tensions benefit no one,” one member of the delegation said. “We are hopeful that these talks will produce a positive outcome.”

Mediators from Turkiye and Qatar were said to share this sentiment. “Even if the talks didn’t produce a breakthrough, the fact that both sides stayed engaged for three straight days is important,” one mediator said. “It shows that neither wants the process to collapse.”

The tone on Monday contrasted with the pessimism that followed Sunday’s nine-hour discussions, when Pakistani officials said Islamabad had presented its final position to the Taliban delegation. “Pakistan has made it clear that the ongoing patronage of terrorists by the Afghan Taliban is unacceptable,” a senior security official had said.

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