Afghanistan and Pakistan Announce Failure of Peace Talks
Afghanistan and Pakistan have announced the failure of peace talks held by their respective delegations in the city of Istanbul, Turkey, confirming that the third series of negotiations, which began on Thursday, yielded no results.
On one hand, Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif stated on Friday that the negotiations had reached a complete deadlock. Asif explained that the Afghan delegation was in agreement with its Pakistani counterpart, but the Afghans were not willing to sign a written agreement. He emphasized that Pakistan would not accept any formal agreement that was not written, adding that the Afghan delegation wanted verbal guarantees, "which is impossible in international negotiations."
On the other hand, Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid stated in a statement published on social media: "During the discussions, the Pakistani side tried to place the entire responsibility for its security on the Afghan government, while showing no willingness to take any responsibility for the security of Afghanistan or its own." He added that "the irresponsible and non-cooperative position of the Pakistani delegation led to no results, despite the good intentions of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the efforts of the mediators."
