Pakistan on Friday expressed hope that the fresh round of talks with Afghanistan, beginning today in Istanbul, will pave the way for a verifiable mechanism to monitor the Afghan Taliban’s actions aimed at preventing cross-border terrorist attacks, Dawn reported.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi, in his first weekly media briefing, said, “Pakistan looks forward to the establishment of a concrete and verifiable monitoring mechanism in the next meeting to be hosted by Turkiye in Istanbul on October 25, to address the menace of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil towards Pakistan and prevent any further loss of life of Pakistanis.”
The upcoming meeting follows the first round of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks held in Doha on October 18 to 19, jointly mediated by Qatar and Turkiye.
The Doha round led to a permanent ceasefire and a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to develop mechanisms for sustained peace and stability between the two neighbours.
“We welcome the agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan, finalised in Doha, Qatar, on October 19, as a first step in ensuring regional peace and stability,” Andrabi said, noting that the truce agreed in Doha had largely held, with no major terrorist incidents reported since.
According to Dawn, the spokesperson emphasised that Pakistan was participating in the Istanbul talks “with the same sincerity of purpose, with the same sincerity of intent with which we participated in Doha.”
The Afghan interim administration also confirmed the Istanbul meeting. Its spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the delegation, led by Mawlawi Rahmatullah Najeeb, deputy minister at the Ministry of Interior, had departed Kabul for Istanbul. “The remaining issues with Pakistan will be discussed in the meeting,” he said in a post on X.
The Istanbul session aims to transition from temporary calm to a structured and verifiable peace framework, with mechanisms for monitoring, verification, and ongoing dialogue through technical committees. Turkish officials have indicated that these committees will examine key areas including counterterrorism, migration, and border management.
Dawn reported that while the Doha round produced the political breakthrough, the Istanbul talks are expected to operationalise it by outlining how to define cross-border terrorism, verify violations, and resolve disputes through a formal structure.
Drawing on Turkiye’s extensive counterterrorism experience and longstanding cooperation with Pakistan, Ankara is seen as a credible facilitator in building an institutionalised peace process. Pakistan is expected to seek verifiable commitments from Kabul to eliminate Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) sanctuaries, arrest or expel militant leaders, and define measurable actions such as raids and arrests.
To support implementation, Islamabad plans to propose mechanisms for intelligence sharing, real-time monitoring, and third-party oversight–potentially co-chaired by Turkiye and Qatar–to ensure compliance and address violations.
“During the Doha talks, the basic focus was to stop the terrorist attacks from Afghan soil into Pakistan. And in order to do that, we should have a verifiable, empirical mechanism to ascertain that the Afghan Taliban regime in Kabul is taking concrete actions to stop such attacks,” the spokesperson said.
He added that the continuation of the ceasefire showed encouraging progress, remarking, “In effect, the Doha talks and outcomes were fruitful. We would like the trend to continue in Istanbul and post-Istanbul.”
Responding to a question on trade, Andrabi confirmed that “Afghan transit trade is closed. It is not taking place because of the factors that you were aware of. There was considerable discussion on this question during last week’s briefing as well. Till the evaluation of the security situation, this transit trade will remain closed.” (ANI)
