After Afghanistan's big warning, Pakistan's 'dialogue' commitment; peace deal likely
A Turkish delegation plans to travel to Pakistan to discuss the country's ongoing talks with Afghanistan regarding a peace deal.
Pakistan said Sunday it was committed to "dialogue" with Afghanistan despite peace talks ending after Kabul’s warning of a war with Islamabad.
According to a Reuters report, Turkey's foreign minister, defence minister, and intelligence chief plan to travel to Pakistan this week to discuss the country's ongoing talks with Afghanistan regarding a peace deal.
In its first acknowledgement that the negotiations were over, Pakistan's foreign office said that the third round of talks "concluded" on Friday.
"Pakistan remains committed to (the) resolution of bilateral differences through dialogue. However, Pakistan's core concern, i.e. terrorism emanating from Afghanistan, needs to be addressed first and foremost," the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The two sides met in Istanbul in an effort to cement a truce agreed on October 19 in Qatar, after dozens of people were killed in cross-border fire between the neighbours.
According to an official readout on Sunday of his comments on a return flight from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, where he met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the tripartite visit aims to seal a permanent ceasefire and peace between the nations as soon as possible.
This comes after the Taliban government on Saturday said it has the right to defend itself in case of a war.
Taliban’s warning to Pakistan
Afghanistan blamed Pakistan for the failure of the talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar, terming Pakistan's demands as unreasonable, which stagnated the peace process as it raised Afghanistan's “right to defend itself” in a war, news agency AP reported, quoting Afghan government spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid.
Mujahid said that while Afghanistan “(does) not want insecurity in the region, and entering into war is not our first choice".
“If war breaks out, we have the right to defend ourselves,” he was quoted as saying. Earlier, he had reiterated in a written statement that Afghanistan “will not allow anyone to use its territory against another country, nor permit actions that undermine its sovereignty or security.”
Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that regularly claims deadly attacks in Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban deny sheltering the group.
