- Iranian president proposes easing Pak-Afghan tensions.
- Iran gives “special importance” to Pakistan ties: Pezeshkian
- Naqvi discusses Pak-Afghan border matters with Pezeshkian.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Wednesday offered to mediate between Pakistan and Afghanistan after peace talks between the two countries, facilitated by Qatar and Turkiye, ended in failure.
President Pezeshkian made the offer to Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi during a meeting in Tehran, offering to play his part in easing tensions between the two nations.
The Iranian president’s remarks come just hours after Pakistan confirmed that negotiations with the Afghan Taliban regime had ended without any progress.
The first round of the peace negotiations between the two neighbouring nations was mediated by Qatar in Doha after a week-long border clashes, instigated by the Afghan Taliban regime.
The clashes began after the Taliban forces, backed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) Fitna al-Khawarij, launched an unprovoked attack on multiple border posts of the Pakistan army on October 12.
Pakistan’s retaliatory strikes resulted in the killing of more than 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants, while the forces also conducted “precision strikes” deep inside Afghanistan, including Kabul and Kandahar province.
As many as 23 Pakistani soldiers also embraced martyrdom while defending the homeland.
Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a ceasefire on October 19 during the talks mediated by Qatar, and announced plans to meet again in Istanbul, Turkiye, on October 25 to discuss matters in detail.
The second round of peace negotiations began on October 25 in Istanbul, in which Pakistan submitted a counterterrorism framework to the Taliban delegation.
However, the talks collapsed after five days due to what Pakistani authorities described as the Afghan Taliban’s “illogical” arguments, “detached from ground realities”.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif blamed “elements in Kabul” being “controlled from New Delhi” for the failure of the negotiations.
“There should be no doubt that India has started a proxy war against Pakistan using Kabul,” he said during an interview on Geo News’ Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath on Tuesday.
The defence minister revealed that the Taliban delegation backed down from the agreement with the Pakistani delegation five times after receiving instructions from Kabul.
“They [Taliban delegation] would express their helplessness when they return. I have all the sympathies with that delegation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the interior minister informed the Iranian president of matters related to the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The two leaders also deliberated on ways to enhance bilateral cooperation.
President Pezeshkian affirmed that his country attached “special importance to its relations with Pakistan” and could not forget the “immense support from Islamabad” throughout the years.
