Star Metro - Pakistani security source says Afghanistan talks 'likely' to resume

The talks come in the wake of the deadliest clashes between the South Asian neighbours since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

More than 70 people were killed and hundreds wounded in violence that erupted after explosions in Kabul on October 9, which the Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan.

The two sides had held days of talks in Istanbul, until Islamabad said Wednesday that the negotiations had collapsed.

"On the request of the Afghan Taliban regime, another round of talks between Pakistan and Kabul is likely to take place in Istanbul," said the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the subject publicly.

Pakistan state broadcaster PTV said Islamabad agreed to resume the talks at the request of the hosts.

Afghan state-run broadcaster RTA also reported Thursday that the "stalled negotiations... are set to resume in Istanbul under the mediation of Turkey and Qatar".

RTA laid the blame for the talks' collapse on "unreasonable demands of the Pakistani side".

Afghan officials have not commented publicly about the state of the negotiations.

- 'Tired' -

Relations between the one-time allies, who share a 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier, have deteriorated in recent years.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring militant groups that stage cross-border attacks, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says uses Afghan territory as a base.

The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations.

"Any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures," Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned this week.

A ceasefire remains in place, but the border between the two countries has been closed for more than two weeks, biting into the earnings of conflict-weary traders.

In Kandahar on the Afghan side, Nazir Ahmed, a cloth trader, told AFP both countries "will bear losses".

"Our nation is tired and their nation is also tired," the 35-year-old said Wednesday.

Abdul Jabbar, a vehicle spare parts trader in the Pakistani border town of Chaman, said "trade suffers greatly".

"Both countries face losses -- both are Islamic nations," he told AFP.

The violence killed at least 50 Afghan civilians and wounded 447 others in one week, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told AFP on Monday.

Pakistan's military said on October 12 that 23 personnel had been killed and 29 wounded, without detailing civilian casualties.

F.Tremblay--SMC