ISLAMABAD: Turkey's foreign and defense ministers and intelligence chief plan to travel to Pakistan this week to discuss its stop-start talks with Afghanistan over a ceasefire in place in South Asia, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday.
The talks, mediated by Turkey and Qatar on November 6 and 7, failed to finalize details of an Oct. 19 ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan that was reached in Doha, with both sides accusing the other of not being willing to cooperate.
The two countries engaged in fierce fighting last month after Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan on what it called Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan-linked targets. Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of sheltering the TTP and other groups, Kabul denies it.
Erdogan said Turkey is “closely following the terrorist attacks in Pakistan and the tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan” and expressed hope that the talks will yield results towards lasting stability, Turkish broadcaster TRT reported, citing an official readout.
"The tripartite visit aims to seal a permanent ceasefire and peace between Islamabad and Kabul as soon as possible," the Turkish president was quoted as saying in the readout of his comments on a return flight from Baku where he met Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
In a statement issued shortly afterwards, the foreign office in Islamabad said that Pakistan has never eschewed dialogue with any government in Kabul.
"Pakistan’s intention has always been to constructively engage with Afghanistan so as to enable it to become a stable, peaceful and prosperous country that is at peace within and with its neighbors," it said.
"Despite all these positive gestures by Pakistan in terms of trade, humanitarian assistance, educational and medical visas facilitation, and efforts at international forums to encourage the international community to engage with Taliban regime in the interest of regional peace and stability, and for the socio-economic development of Afghanistan and its people, the response from the Taliban regime has only been hollow promises and inaction."
The foreign office said that Pakistan has demanded the Afghan government to hand over militants to Pakistan, but Kabul has repeatedly refused to do so, citing a "lack of control."
"More than being a matter of capability, it has become a matter of intent of Taliban regime. Empty hopes and hollow promises rendered by Taliban regime so far have already outlived their efficacy," it said. "Definite and concrete actions have to be taken to safeguard the interests and lives of the people of Pakistan."
Islamabad accused the Afghan government of trying to portray the TTP and Baloch separatist elements as "refugees" in Afghanistan, describing it as a "ploy."
"Pakistan is ready to receive any Pakistani living in Afghanistan and their families, provided they are handed over at the border crossings of Torkham or Chaman and not hurled across the border, fully equipped with sophisticated weapons and equipment," it added.
There was no immediate comment from Kabul on the talks in Pakistan or a response to the Pakistani foreign office statement.
During the latest round of talks, the neighbors once again clashed along the border, though calm was restored quickly and both sides confirmed that the ceasefire was intact. Clashes erupted between the neighbors on Oct. 11 after Pakistan conducted airstrikes on what it said were TTP-linked targets in Afghanistan.
Fifty civilians were killed and 447 others wounded on the Afghan side of the border during a week of skirmishes, according to the United Nations. At least five people died in explosions in Kabul. The Pakistani army reported 23 of its soldiers were killed and 29 others wounded, without mentioning civilian casualties.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have surged in recent years following an uptick in militant attacks, mainly by the TTP, since 2021. The group is separate from but is viewed by Pakistani officials as an ally of the Afghan Taliban.
Islamabad also accuses the Afghan government of acting with the support of India, its historical enemy, amid closer ties between these two countries. The Taliban government wants Afghanistan’s territorial sovereignty respected.
