Afghan and Pakistani negotiators continued tense peace talks in İstanbul on Friday after deadly border clashes threatened to unravel a fragile ceasefire between the two neighbors.
The discussions in Turkey aim to cement a truce brokered in Qatar last month that ended a week of fighting which left dozens dead along the 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) frontier.
Both sides traded blame for renewed fire this week but pledged to stay at the negotiating table.
“The Islamic Emirate’s forces, out of respect for the negotiation team and to prevent civilian casualties, have so far shown no reaction,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Thursday, accusing Pakistan of firing first in the Afghan border town of Spin Boldak.
Pakistan’s information ministry denied the charge, saying Afghan forces opened fire. “Our security forces responded immediately in a measured and responsible manner,” it said, adding that “the ceasefire remains intact.”
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said the delegation in İstanbul had presented “evidence-based, justified and logical demands to the mediators with a singular aim: to put an end to cross-border terrorism.”
Islamabad accuses the Taliban-led government of sheltering militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has claimed a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation and insists that Pakistan must respect Afghanistan’s sovereignty.
Analysts say the dispute over the TTP remains the “elephant in the room.” Abdul Basit, a researcher at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, told Agence France-Presse that “tensions that were previously simmering are now boiling” and warned the talks could collapse.
The October clashes were triggered by explosions in Kabul that killed five people and were blamed on Pakistan by the Taliban government. The ensuing cross-border fighting killed 50 Afghan civilians and wounded 447, according to the United Nations. Pakistan’s military reported 23 soldiers killed and 29 wounded.
Turkey, which co-brokered the ceasefire with Qatar, has positioned itself as a neutral host for the latest round of talks. Turkish officials said last week that both sides agreed to establish a “monitoring and verification mechanism” to prevent further violence and penalize violators.
Residents on both sides of the border expressed exhaustion after weeks of tension. “We have children, young boys. This is now our daily routine. It all needs to stop so we can live our lives,” said Enayatullah, a 30-year-old man in Spin Boldak.
In the Pakistani border town of Chaman, 61-year-old Abdul Habib appealed for calm: “We ask the authorities to consider our situation and show us sympathy. May God create peace among them and bring reconciliation between them.”
© Agence France-Presse