By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The third day of delicate negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan veered sharply between guarded optimism and mounting frustration on Monday, as the two sides grappled with a persistent impasse over measures to stanch cross-border terrorism.
By late evening, officials conceded that a final agreement remained just beyond reach. Officials close to the closed-door talks said that while “most of the points had been mutually agreed between the two sides,” the central obstacle endured: forging a mechanism for verifiable action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil. “We kept hoping that we would be able to sign a mutual document with Afghanistan soon, followed by a joint statement, but it still remains out of our reach,” one official said.
The morning had unfolded under a brighter light. Participants spoke of “encouraging progress” and “serious engagement” from both delegations, a marked shift from the gloom that had settled after Sunday’s session. Then, Pakistani unnamed officials had informed reporters that Islamabad had laid out its final position, a disclosure that local news outlets read as a harbinger of collapse.
Yet members of the Afghan negotiating team struck a more hopeful note late Sunday and into Monday morning. They portrayed the remaining rifts as “few” and “resolvable,” insisting that the Istanbul dialogue could yet bear fruit. “The Afghan side has made it clear that tensions benefit no one,” one delegation member said. “We are hopeful that these talks will produce a positive outcome.”
As the hours stretched into evening, however, that buoyancy ebbed. “It is a difficult phase,” an official acknowledged. At the heart of the deadlock lay the Afghan Taliban delegation’s reluctance to commit anything to paper, especially assurances that would verifiably sever support for the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, the group blamed for a surge in attacks inside Pakistan. “The hosts understand Pakistan’s concerns,” the official added, “but people in Kabul and Kandahar are not willing to commit.”
The Pakistani side, increasingly restive, held firm. “Pakistan’s principled stance has been clear from the outset,” the official said. “The Taliban must end their patronage of the TTP and prevent Afghan territory from being used for terrorism against Pakistan.” Officials pointed to “some negative and external influences” — an allusion, diplomats said privately, to meddling by third parties — even as Pakistan and the mediating countries remained “sincere and serious” in their push for progress.
Mediators from Turkey and Qatar, serving as co-hosts, echoed the Afghans’ call for perseverance, urging both sides to sustain the momentum and avert a breakdown. For all the stagnation, diplomatic observers deemed Monday’s marathon session far from futile. “Even if the talks didn’t produce a breakthrough, the fact that both sides stayed engaged for three straight days is important,” one mediator said. “It shows that neither wants the process to collapse.”
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