Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to resume negotiations in Turkey on Thursday in an effort to prevent renewed hostilities following an unprecedented border confrontation in October that left dozens dead.
اضافة اعلان
The two countries had agreed to a ceasefire in Qatar on October 19, but reached a stalemate last week in Istanbul over several details of the agreement.
Both sides have accused each other of negotiating in bad faith and warned that clashes could resume if the talks fail. It remains unclear whether new delegations will be dispatched to Istanbul.
According to Turkey, which is mediating the talks alongside Qatar, the new meeting aims to establish a “monitoring and verification mechanism” to ensure the preservation of peace and to impose sanctions on any party that violates it.
The United Nations reported that 50 civilians were killed and 447 injured on the Afghan side of the border during a week of fighting, while at least five people were killed in Kabul by bomb attacks.
The Pakistani military confirmed that 23 soldiers were killed and 29 wounded, but did not report any civilian casualties.
The clashes began after a Taliban government attack along the border, which Kabul said was in response to bombings in the Afghan capital that it accused Pakistan of orchestrating.
The border between the two countries has remained closed since then, with passage allowed only for Afghan refugees, who have faced increasing restrictions from Pakistan since 2023.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of harboring anti-Pakistan “terrorist” groups, particularly members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), while Kabul strongly denies the charge, claiming instead that Pakistan supports terrorist organizations, including the regional branch of the Islamic State group.
(AFP)
