Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to ceasefire in Istanbul talks: Why Islamabad had no option but to accept Taliban ‘assurances’

A signboard is pictured along a deserted street at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Torkham on October 13, 2025, amid cross-border clashes between the two countries. (Photo by Abdul MAJEED / AFP)

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a fragile ceasefire following peace talks in Istanbul, days after the previous round of negotiations collapsed amid mutual recriminations. The truce, which comes after weeks of deadly border clashes, appears to have been salvaged largely after Pakistan accepted “assurances” from the Taliban regime in Kabul.

The Turkish foreign ministry said that “all parties have agreed to put in place a monitoring and verification mechanism that will ensure maintenance of peace and impose a penalty on the violating party.” It added that both sides plan to reconvene at a higher-level meeting in Istanbul on November 6 to finalise implementation details.

The talks were restarted at the request of mediators Turkey and Qatar in an effort to prevent a repeat of the violent border confrontations that have killed dozens this month. Despite the breakdown of earlier discussions, the ceasefire has largely held in recent days, with no fresh border clashes reported this week.

Pakistan backs down after Kabul’s “assurances”

Pakistan’s foreign ministry confirmed that the ceasefire was holding after it received commitments from the Taliban government. “The ceasefire holds,” ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi told reporters at a weekly briefing, adding that Islamabad would respond to any provocation. “We have taken note of assurances from the Afghan side on this issue,” he said.

Islamabad had earlier insisted that any dialogue would centre on its demand that Afghanistan take “clear, verifiable and effective action” against militant groups operating along the border. Two senior Pakistani security officials told the Associated Press that Pakistan reiterated its demand that Afghan territory not be used for “terrorism” against Pakistan.

Islamabad’s bluster rings hollow

The ceasefire deal follows a week of sabre-rattling from Pakistani leaders. On Wednesday, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned that Pakistan could “obliterate” the Taliban regime, claiming the country “does not require even a fraction of its full arsenal” to push the group into hiding. His fiery comments, delivered hours after the earlier talks collapsed, were seen as an attempt to project strength amid domestic criticism of Islamabad’s handling of the Afghan border crisis.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed the breakdown of those talks, accusing Kabul of “avoiding key issues and engaging in blame game and deflection.” He added that Pakistan “remained committed to protecting its people from terrorism.”

Yet Pakistan’s own record of nurturing and supporting militant groups has weakened its credibility in demanding counterterrorism measures from others. Its military establishment, long accused of using proxies across the border, now finds itself struggling to contain violence that many in the region see as a consequence of its own policies.

Clashes reflect the blowback

The recent border violence marked the deadliest confrontations since the Taliban seized power in 2021, leaving more than 70 people dead and hundreds injured. The fighting began after Pakistan launched airstrikes targeting the head of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) earlier this month, prompting retaliatory attacks on Pakistani military posts along the 2,600-km frontier.

Both sides had previously agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but the second round of talks in Istanbul collapsed soon after. Pakistan’s military, meanwhile, announced on Thursday that it had killed 18 militants in two separate operations in the southwestern province of Balochistan, further highlighting how Islamabad’s internal instability continues to spill over its borders.

Despite its tough rhetoric, Pakistan’s acceptance of Taliban “assurances” underscores its limited leverage over Kabul and its growing isolation. The so-called ceasefire may bring temporary calm, but it also exposes how Islamabad’s decades-long policy of cultivating militant networks has come full circle, turning Pakistan into a victim of the very extremism it once helped create.