Pakistan-Taliban Talks Fail in Saudi Arabia; Risk of Conflict Looms

Islamabad/Kabul: Efforts to ease tensions between Afghanistan’s Taliban and Pakistan appear to be faltering. A Taliban delegation sent to Saudi Arabia for high-level talks returned without any agreement, raising concerns of renewed hostilities along the border.

The delegation, which included Deputy Interior Minister Rahmatullah Najib, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Abdul Kahar Balkhi, and senior Taliban leader Anas Haqqani, met officials in Riyadh as Saudi Arabia attempted to mediate peace between the two sides. However, the meeting concluded without a breakthrough.

This follows earlier rounds of discussions in Istanbul, Turkey, which also ended unsuccessfully. In previous talks hosted by Qatar and Turkey, three rounds of negotiations took place, including one in Doha where a temporary ceasefire agreement was reached. Despite this, neither side could reach a lasting consensus, and tensions that flared in October—marked by military skirmishes along the border—remain unresolved.

Both Pakistan and the Taliban acknowledged that the Istanbul talks had failed, and while they initially agreed to extend the ceasefire implemented on October 19, the collapse of the Saudi Arabia meeting has revived fears of conflict. Recent airstrikes in Afghanistan, attributed by the Taliban to Pakistan, have further inflamed anger in Kabul, with Taliban officials vowing retaliation.

With diplomacy stalling, the risk of a full-blown confrontation between the neighboring countries now looms large.