Af, Pak negotiators hold peace talks in Doha after fierce clashes

ISLAMABAD/KABUL, October 18

Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan's defence ministers began in Doha, Qatar, on Saturday, but no agreement has been reached so far. Officials from both the countries reached the capital of Qatar after a ceasefire was extended following a week of fierce border clashes.

Pakistan and Afghanistan on Friday extended the 48-hour truce for the duration of the Doha talks, sources said, as they sought to resolve the clashes that killed dozens and wounded hundreds in the worst violence between the two countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

“As promised, negotiations with the Pakistani side will take place in Doha,” Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, adding that the Kabul team, led by Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, had arrived in Doha.

In a statement, Pakistan’s foreign office said Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif would lead discussions with representatives of the Afghan Taliban. “The talks will focus on immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism against Pakistan emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the Pak-Afghan border,” it said.

The fierce ground fighting between the one-time allies and Pakistani airstrikes across their contested 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier were triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in militants who had stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan. The Taliban denies giving haven to militants to attack Pakistan and accuses the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation about Afghanistan, provoking border tensions and sheltering ISIS-linked militants to undermine its stability and sovereignty. Islamabad did not seek escalation, Pakistan’s foreign office said, urging the Afghan Taliban authorities to address Pakistan’s “legitimate security concerns by taking verifiable action against terrorist entities”. “The Afghan regime must rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan and are using Afghan soil to perpetrate heinous attacks inside Pakistan,” the Pakistan army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, said on Saturday, addressing a graduation ceremony of cadets.