Pak-Afghan forces exchange fire as officials hold talks in Turkiye

As officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan held talks in Turkiye to find a lasting solution to cross-border militancy, their forces traded fire, testing the fragile peace between the two sides.

The talks began in Istanbul to defuse tension between Islamabad and Kabul that erupted in an open border conflict last month.

Both sides reported human losses during the clashes from October 11-15, which were brought under control after a temporary ceasefire that was extended and is still holding. However, it came under strain on Thursday after a fire exchange for which the two sides blamed each other, but the situation was brought under control.

“We strongly reject claims circulated by the Afghan side regarding today’s incident at the Pak-Afghan border at Chaman,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said in a statement.

“Firing was initiated from the Afghan side, to which our security forces responded immediately in a measured and responsible manner. The situation was brought under control due to responsible action by Pakistani forces and the ceasefire remains intact,” it said. The ministry also said that “Pakistan remains committed to ongoing dialogue and expects reciprocity from Afghan authorities.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Afghan Taliban officials resumed talks on Thursday, aiming to tackle the issue of cross-border terrorism and avoid further escalation between the two sides.

The third round was planned to last for two days and was arranged after the two sides failed to agree on the contentious issues during the two rounds of talks held on October 19 in Doha and October 25 in Istanbul.

For the third round, Pakistan’s delegation is being led by Lt Gen Asim Malik, Director General of the Inter-Services Intelligence and national security advisor, and includes senior officials from the military, intelligence agencies, and the Foreign Office. The Afghan Taliban’s delegation, meanwhile, includes General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) chief Abdul Haq Waseq, Deputy Interior Minister Rehmatullah Najib, Taliban spokesperson Suhail Shaheen, Anas Haqqani, Qahar Balkhi, Zakir Jalali, and Afghanistan’s chargé d’affaires in Ankara.

So far no details have been shared by any side about the talks, but sources said that talks were held in a "good atmosphere" and could be extended if needed. Earlier, during the conflict in October, Pakistan claimed that at least 206 Afghan Taliban and 110 Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) operatives were killed, while 23 Pakistani soldiers were killed.