Talks in Istanbul have stalled after renewed border clashes between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban forces threatened a Qatar-brokered ceasefire. Pakistan says four Afghan civilians were killed in the most recent exchanges and accuses the Taliban of failing to curb groups it calls terrorists, while Kabul and Islamabad traded competing claims over who initiated the shooting. The United Nations reports about 50 civilian deaths and 447 wounded on the Afghan side since October 9; Pakistan reports 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded. Mediators from Turkiye and Qatar are reviewing Pakistan’s demands and have proposed a monitoring and verification mechanism to prevent further violations.
Istanbul Talks Stall as Deadly Pakistan–Afghanistan Border Clashes Threaten Ceasefire
Talks in Istanbul have stalled after renewed border clashes between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban forces threatened a Qatar-brokered ceasefire. Pakistan says four Afghan civilians were killed in the most recent exchanges and accuses the Taliban of failing to curb groups it calls terrorists, while Kabul and Islamabad traded competing claims over who initiated the shooting. The United Nations reports about 50 civilian deaths and 447 wounded on the Afghan side since October 9; Pakistan reports 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded. Mediators from Turkiye and Qatar are reviewing Pakistan’s demands and have proposed a monitoring and verification mechanism to prevent further violations.
06:21, 08.11.2025Conflict
Istanbul talks deadlocked amid fresh border violence
Diplomatic negotiations in Istanbul between Pakistan and representatives of the Afghan Taliban have stalled, Islamabad said, after renewed exchanges of fire along the two countries' shared frontier threatened a Qatar-brokered ceasefire.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the talks were at a deadlock on Friday, after an Afghan official reported that four Afghan civilians were killed and five others wounded in clashes between Pakistani and Afghan forces despite the ongoing negotiations. There was no immediate response from Kabul to Pakistan’s public statement.
In a statement thanking Turkiye and Qatar for mediating the talks, Tarar said the Afghan Taliban had not met commitments made to the international community to curb what Pakistan describes as "terrorism" under the 2021 Doha agreement. He warned that Pakistan "will not support any steps by the Taliban government that are not in the interest of the Afghan people or neighboring countries" and said Islamabad remains prepared to take "all necessary measures" to protect its citizens and sovereignty.
Tarar: "We continue to seek peace and goodwill for Afghans, but will protect our people and sovereignty."
Officials on both sides traded blame over who started the shooting. Ali Mohammad Haqmal, head of the Information and Culture Department in Spin Boldak, accused Pakistan of initiating the firing but said Afghan forces held their fire during the Istanbul talks. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi, by contrast, said Afghan forces initiated the exchanges. Pakistan’s Ministry of Information said the ceasefire remained in place and reiterated Islamabad’s commitment to continued dialogue, while urging reciprocity from Afghan authorities.
Pakistan says it has handed a set of demands to mediators aimed at ending cross-border militancy; mediators are discussing those demands with the Afghan Taliban delegation, point by point. Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring armed groups, notably the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which claims many deadly attacks inside Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban deny providing sanctuary to the TTP. Many TTP leaders and fighters are believed to have moved into Afghanistan since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, further straining relations.
Turkiye said the parties had agreed in earlier talks to establish a monitoring and verification mechanism intended to maintain peace and penalise violators. The United Nations reports that, during clashes that began on October 9, some 50 civilians were killed and 447 wounded on the Afghan side of the border. Pakistani authorities say 23 of their soldiers were killed and 29 wounded; the Pakistani army did not immediately provide figures for civilian casualties on its side. The Taliban government has blamed Pakistan for explosions in Kabul that killed at least five people.
The situation highlights the fragility of the ceasefire and the difficulties mediators face in translating talks into a durable reduction in violence. Observers say sustained monitoring, clear verification mechanisms and reciprocal confidence-building steps will be essential to preventing further escalation and protecting civilians on both sides.