Istanbul,Türkiye – November 6,2025 – Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are resuming peace talks in Istanbul today,facilitated jointly by Turkiye and Qatar,despite lingering tensions and mutual accusations. This marks the third round of negotiations aimed at establishing lasting peace and security between the two nations.
The talks were initially salvaged by Turkiye after previous discussions appeared to be heading towards failure, with a temporary truce currently in effect despite evident acrimony expressed on social media and through official statements.
Leading the Pakistani delegation is Lt. Gen Asim Malik, Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence and National Security Advisor, accompanied by senior officials from the military, intelligence agencies, and the Foreign Office. The Afghan Taliban’s delegation includes General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) Chief Abdulqa Waseq, Deputy Interior Minister Rehmatullah Najib, Taliban Spokesperson Suhail Shaheen, Anas Haqqani, Qahar Balkhi, Zakir Jalali, and Afghanistan’s chargé d’affaires in Ankara. Discussions are expected to continue for two days.
Following the last round of talks, a joint statement from the Turkish Foreign Ministry affirmed that “all parties have agreed on continuation of ceasefire” and “to put in place a monitoring and verification mechanism that will ensure maintenance of peace and impose a penalty on the violating party.” The statement also indicated that “the principals” from both sides would reconvene in Istanbul today to discuss implementation.
Pakistan maintains its firm position that afghan soil must not be used for terrorism against it. Earlier this week, Pakistani military spokesman Lt. Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry accused Kabul of harboring Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters, stating that stopping attacks originating from Afghan soil is a non-negotiable demand.
Lt. Gen Chaudhry described the TTP as a “branch of the Afghan Taliban” and alleged the group was deliberately positioning fighters within populated areas. He affirmed that Pakistan reserves the right to take action if the issue remains unresolved through dialog, and any attacks will be met with a forceful response.