PESHAWAR: Pakistan and Afghanistan have opened a new round of talks in China to end the deadliest fighting between the two neighbouring countries since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, sources said on Wednesday.
Beijing has been trying to mediate a negotiated settlement to the conflict, which has claimed heavy losses on both sides, although many more on the Afghanistan side, since Pakistan launched air strikes in late February.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harbouring and supporting militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies that claim, saying the militancy is Pakistan’s domestic problem.
Torkham border crossing-point reopened
The new round of talks coincides with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar’s visit to Beijing to seek Chinese support for Islamabad’s initiative to broker a peace deal between the US and Iran.
Foreign and defence ministry delegates from both countries have travelled to the northwestern Chinese city of Urumqi, four sources in Pakistan and Kabul said.
The four spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to disclose the information, saying the talks involved mid-level officials.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry and the Kabul administration did not respond to requests for comment.
The talks will focus on a potential ceasefire and on the reopening of border crossings to allow trade and travel, they said, adding that the new round of talks was a Chinese initiative.
Pakistan, Afghanistan trade fire as Islamabad prepares to host US-Iran talks
“Our top leadership agreed with them and decided to participate in the process,” a Taliban leader in Kabul said.
Both sides traded heavy fire this week after a temporary ceasefire along their 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border.
The pause in hostilities was announced for the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr, and was also requested by Turkey, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which Islamabad ended last week, saying it was responding to an attack from the Afghan side.
Afghanistan has not yet announced officially whether the ceasefire was still holding on its side.
Pakistan resumes military operations against Afghanistan
Kabul claimed more than 400 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul last month before the neighbours suspended the fighting.
Pakistan has rejected the Taliban’s statements about the strike, saying it “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”.
The Chinese mediation efforts come as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, who hosted talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan during previous clashes in October, find themselves embroiled in the US and Israeli war on Iran.
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