Islamabad pushes for resolution
\nTaliban delegation acknowledges Islamabad\u2019s terrorism concerns but shifts stance on instructions from Kabul, say sources
\n Istanbul
\nThe Pakistani delegation and mediator Turkiye are making a last-ditch effort to settle the issue of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil through dialogue and logic during the talks with the interim Taliban rulers in Istanbul, sources said on Tuesday.
\nBoth sides held a series of hours-long dialogues in the Turkish capital, with the Afghan delegation changing its stance due to instructions received from Kabul each time.
\n\u201cPakistan and Afghanistan held 18-hour talks on Monday, and now the dialogues are moving towards the final round,\u201d the sources privy to the development said.
\nThey said that the Afghan Taliban delegation has acknowledged Pakistan\u2019s demand for action against militants and terrorists operating from their soil, but they kept changing their stance on instructions from Kabul.
\nBoth agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but could not find common ground in a second round of talks mediated by Turkiye and Qatar in Istanbul, Afghan and Pakistani sources briefed on the issue said, according to Reuters.
\nA Pakistani security source said the Taliban had been unwilling to commit to rein in the TTP, which operates with impunity inside Afghanistan.
\nThe sources added that the third day of the Istanbul talks held on Monday was marred by disagreements, with Pakistan insisting on its proposals while the Afghan Taliban delegation remained constrained by instructions from Kabul.
\nMediators also recognised Pakistan\u2019s demands as reasonable and legitimate, the sources said, adding that the Afghan negotiators themselves, interestingly, believed it was right to accept Islamabad\u2019s counterterrorism demands.
\nSecurity sources said the Afghan Taliban kept taking directions from Kabul and repeatedly consulted the Afghan administration during the talks.
\n\u201cThe delegation appears to be under Kabul\u2019s control, creating delays in progress,\u201d they added.
\nAccording to the sources, Pakistan has consistently stressed that accepting its demands is in everyone\u2019s interest, a point also conveyed to the Taliban side by the host countries.
\nPak-Afghan tensions
\nThe two neighbouring nations are witnessing heightened tensions amid the Afghan Taliban regime\u2019s reluctance to act against terrorist groups operating from its soil, in the backdrop of rising terror attacks in Pakistan.
\nThe tensions were escalated when the Taliban forces and India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), alias Fitna al-Khawarij, resorted to an unprovoked attack on Pakistan on October 12.
\nThe Pakistan Armed Forces gave a befitting response to the aggression, killing over 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants in a self-defence action.
\nThe military\u2019s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that 23 soldiers embraced martyrdom in the clashes with the Taliban forces and the terrorists.
\nFurthermore, the security forces also conducted \u201cprecision strikes\u201d in Afghanistan\u2019s Kandahar province and the capital Kabul, as well as in the border areas of North and South Waziristan districts, successfully destroying multiple strongholds in response to the aggression.
\nThe two sides had agreed on a temporary ceasefire during the Doha talks on October 19 and to hold further meetings to establish a permanent mechanism to ensure peace and stability.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad pushes for resolution Taliban delegation acknowledges Islamabad\u2019s terrorism concerns but shifts stance on instructions from Kabul, say sources Istanbul The Pakistani delegation and mediator Turkiye are making a last-ditch effort to settle the issue of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil through dialogue and logic during the talks with the interim Taliban rulers in Istanbul, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":511214,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-511197","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n