Pakistan agrees to resume Taliban talks in Istanbul after Turkiye’s mediation push

Islamabad extends delegation’s stay to ‘give peace another chance’ amid renewed tensions with Kabul.

According to official sources in Islamabad, Pakistan has agreed to resume talks with the Afghan Taliban regime in Istanbul after Türkiye intervened to persuade both sides to continue negotiations aimed at curbing cross-border terrorism, Caliber.Az reports per Pakistani media.

Sources told Geo News that Pakistan decided to “give peace another chance” following the collapse of earlier rounds of discussions that had failed to produce what officials described as any “workable solution.” The Pakistani delegation, which had been preparing to return home, will now remain in Istanbul to pursue the talks.

The renewed dialogue is expected to focus on Islamabad’s demand that the Taliban take “clear, verifiable and effective action” against terrorist groups using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan.

Talks between the two sides, held earlier this week with mediation from friendly countries including Qatar and Türkiye, had broken down after the Taliban refused to provide verifiable guarantees against such attacks.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed on October 29 that the four-day discussions had ended without a breakthrough despite what he called Pakistan’s “evidence-backed counterterrorism demands.”

“The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution,” Tarar wrote on X, adding that Islamabad “has long sought cooperation from Kabul against militants targeting the country.” He thanked Qatar, Türkiye, and other “friendly nations for their support and sincere efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to the problem of terrorism.”

Deep strike warning

The move to resume dialogue comes a day after Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif issued a stark warning that Pakistan would carry out strikes “deep inside Afghanistan” if terrorists continued to operate from there.

In a post on X, Asif said that Pakistan entered the talks “at the request of brotherly countries” but accused certain Afghan officials of making “venomous statements” that reflected the Taliban regime’s “devious and splintered mindset.”

“We have borne your treachery and mockery for too long, but no more,” Asif warned. “Any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures. Be assured and test our resolve and capabilities, if you wish so, at your own peril and doom.”

He added: “Let me assure them that Pakistan does not require employing even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding. If they wish so, the repeat of the scenes of their rout at Tora Bora with their tails between the legs would surely be a spectacle to watch for the people of the region.”

In a separate interview, Asif also accused India of waging a “low-intensity war” against Pakistan from Afghan soil.

Mounting border tensions

Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have sharply deteriorated in recent months amid a surge in militant attacks inside Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Taliban to act against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other groups responsible for deadly assaults on security forces and civilians. The Taliban, however, have largely dismissed these demands and instead accused Pakistan of border violations.

On 12 October, unprovoked firing by Taliban forces along the border triggered fierce clashes in which more than 200 Taliban and allied fighters were killed, alongside 23 Pakistani soldiers.

Pakistan’s military later conducted strikes inside Afghan territory, including in Kabul, targeting militant hideouts.

Hostilities eased after Pakistan accepted the Taliban’s request for a temporary ceasefire on 17 October. Delegations from both sides subsequently met in Doha, where they signed a ceasefire agreement mediated by Qatar.

Türkiye later hosted a second round of peace talks in Istanbul, which began on 25 October but ended without progress after four days. Pakistani officials described the Taliban’s position during those discussions as “illogical” and “detached from ground realities.”

With Ankara’s renewed mediation, Islamabad now appears willing to test whether the Taliban’s stance has softened—though officials caution that patience in Pakistan is running thin.

By Aghakazim Guliyev