Pakistan and Afghanistan continue to face rising border clashes, prompting Khawaja Muhammad Asif of Pakistan’s Defence Ministry to express cautious optimism that mediation efforts led by Qatar and Turkiye can produce a constructive solution. Its geo.tv +2 for more on this story.
Asif’s remarks follow a week of increased violence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier, the worst since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021. Pakistani forces conducted airstrikes into Afghan territory while Taliban-led Afghan forces responded with attacks against Pakistani posts. (Reuters 2021-2024, 2220-2221 and 2240).
Mediation underway Talks taking place in Istanbul at the invitation of Qatar and Turkey aim to cement a ceasefire agreement and address Pakistan’s primary demand: stopping militant groups such as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from using Afghan soil as an launching pad to launch attacks into Pakistani territory from Afghanistan soil. According to Reuters reports.
Under a framework established by Doha, both sides reached an agreement on October 19 to stop cross-border attacks and put in place an oversight and verification mechanism. Qatar’s Foreign Ministry confirmed both ceasefires as well as its mediation role between Turkey and Qatar.
AP News
Representatives met during the Istanbul round and agreed to continue dialogue through follow-up sessions, with one scheduled for November 6 (Reuters +1).
Why Asif is optimistic
In a statement issued by Pakistan’s foreign secretary, Asif stated that Pakistan believed mediation offered a credible pathway towards peace. He pointed out that Afghanistan accepted both the ceasefire framework and clause linking Kabul with counteracting militant groups.
geo.tv He also stressed that the reopening of Torkham border crossing was for deporting illegal Afghan nationals only and did not aim to facilitate trade or introduce any normalisation measures.
Asif noted that Pakistan considers any agreement holding Kabul responsible for militant incursions as non-negotiable and indicated that so long as Afghanistan upholds their commitment, engagement between both countries would proceed smoothly. geo.tv
Persistent Obstacles While optimism remains high, substantial challenges still exist. Previous rounds of talks had failed to produce any lasting agreements; Pakistan’s Information Minister stated this resulted in “no workable solutions”. Source: Reuters
Mistrust exists between Pakistan and Afghanistan: Pakistan alleges Afghanistan harbors militant groups while Afghanistan denies this and views Pakistani strikes as violating Afghan sovereignty.Wake up Dawn!
The question of Afghan capacity or willingness to rein in TTP and other militants is an intricate one, according to analysts who note Kabul’s limited ability to control independent groups; framing it solely as Afghan responsibility may fail to capture its entirety.alitat Al Jazeera reported this issue earlier.
What is at Stake
Success would help stabilise a volatile border region, restore critical transit routes and relieve pressure off Pakistan’s security forces while strengthening Qatar and Turkiye as regional mediators – but failure would carry high risks: Pakistan has warned of “open war” if talks collapse. Reuters >> +1
Conclusion
Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif’s endorsement of Qatar-Turkiye mediation practices indicates their preference for diplomacy over military escalation, yet success depends on guarantees provided by both Islamabad and Kabul–especially regarding militant sanctuaries and cross-border violence. With tensions still running high and trust uncertain, these coming weeks could prove decisive.