For decades, the rugged border between Pakistan and Afghanistan—known as the Durand Line—has been a flashpoint for tension, mistrust, and violence. But on October 25, 2025, delegations from both countries sat down in Istanbul, Turkey, for a critical second round of peace talks, hoping to break the cycle of deadly clashes and find a path to lasting stability. The stakes could not have been higher: recent weeks had seen some of the bloodiest border fighting since the Taliban seized Kabul in 2021, with dozens of soldiers and civilians killed and hundreds more wounded.
The Istanbul talks, hosted at a local hotel and facilitated by Turkey and Qatar, followed a fragile restoration of calm along the border after the first round of discussions in Doha on October 19. According to Dawn and The Express Tribune, both sides agreed in Doha to an immediate ceasefire—one that was sorely needed after a week of intense border clashes, including Pakistani airstrikes and ground fighting triggered by Islamabad’s demands that Kabul rein in militants launching attacks from Afghan soil.
Pakistan’s delegation, led by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and senior security officials, arrived in Istanbul with a clear agenda: to push for a “concrete and verifiable monitoring mechanism” to address what Islamabad describes as the “menace of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil towards Pakistan.” Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi emphasized that Pakistan, committed to regional peace, sought not escalation but action. “Pakistan does not seek escalation,” Andrabi stated, “but urges the Afghan Taliban authorities to honor their commitments to the international community and to take verifiable action against terrorist entities operating from Afghan territory.”
On the Afghan side, the delegation was led by Deputy Interior Minister Haji Najib (also referred to as Rahmatullah Najeeb in some reports), accompanied by prominent figures including Anas Haqqani and Noor Ahmad Noor. Afghanistan’s interim administration spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the Istanbul talks, stating, “The remaining issues (with Pakistan) will be discussed in the meeting.” For Kabul, the top priority was safeguarding Afghanistan’s territorial integrity, especially after recent violence that began with explosions in central Kabul—blamed on Pakistan by the Taliban government—sparked retaliatory attacks along the border.
The immediate cause of the latest escalation, as reported by Agence France-Presse and New Age, was a series of explosions in Kabul coinciding with a rare visit by the Taliban foreign minister to India. The Taliban government pointed the finger at Pakistan, leading to a border offensive that quickly spiraled. Islamabad, vowing a strong response, launched precision strikes against armed groups inside Afghanistan—groups Pakistan claims are responsible for deadly attacks on its own soil, including the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). A particularly devastating suicide attack near the border killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded 13, according to security officials.
As border clashes raged across key sectors—Angoor Adda, Bajaur, Kurram, Dir, Chitral, and Baramcha—both sides suffered heavy losses. The Pakistan Army responded decisively, destroying several Afghan posts and, according to military sources, killing dozens of Afghan soldiers and militants. Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s Army chief, made his position clear: “The Afghan regime must rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan and are using Afghan soil to perpetrate heinous attacks inside Pakistan.”
Despite the violence, diplomatic efforts did not cease. The initial ceasefire agreed in Doha collapsed within two days, with Kabul blaming Islamabad, but a second truce, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, took hold just days before the Istanbul summit. “The ceasefire has been finalised,” Defence Minister Asif posted on X, adding that both sides would meet again in Istanbul to discuss “detailed matters.” The Turkish government, for its part, praised the decision by both sides to pursue mechanisms for “peace and stability” and pledged continued diplomatic support.
Inside the Istanbul hotel, negotiators tackled an ambitious agenda. According to sources cited by The Express Tribune, Pakistan presented a “single-point agenda” focused on the dismantling of terrorist networks. “Pakistan has made it clear that the Afghan government must eliminate terrorist organisations and their hideouts,” one source explained. The talks also explored frameworks for intelligence sharing—an idea described by Ibraheem Bahiss, an analyst with the International Crisis Group, as a potential way forward. “Pakistan would give coordinates of where they suspect TTP fighters or commanders are, and instead of carrying out strikes, Afghanistan would be expected to carry out action against them,” Bahiss told AFP. Yet he warned that technical arrangements alone might not resolve the deeper mistrust fueling the cycle of escalation.
Throughout the discussions, the specter of failure loomed large. In a stark warning reported by Reuters and New Age, Defence Minister Asif declared, “If no agreement takes place, we have an open war with them. But I saw that they want peace.” This blunt assessment underscored just how high the stakes had become. Both governments, once close allies—Pakistan was long the Taliban’s main international backer, viewing them as a strategic counterweight to India—now found themselves locked in a dangerous standoff, with the risk of open conflict never far from the surface.
The border itself remains a point of contention. Stretching over 2,600 kilometers (1,600 miles), the Durand Line is not officially recognized by Afghanistan, a fact that has contributed to repeated clashes and mutual suspicion. For Pakistan, the line marks a vital security frontier, one that has been repeatedly breached by militants. For Afghanistan, it is a symbol of contested sovereignty and historical grievance.
As the Istanbul talks drew to a close, there were signs of cautious optimism. Both sides agreed to continue discussions and to build on the commitments made in Doha. The hope, as articulated by Turkey and Qatar, is to establish a practical and sustainable mechanism for addressing mutual security concerns—a mechanism that can outlast the next crisis and bring a measure of stability to one of the world’s most volatile borders.
But as analysts and diplomats alike acknowledge, the road ahead is fraught with challenges. Technical solutions like intelligence sharing are only part of the answer. The deeper issues—competing national interests, unresolved historical disputes, and the persistent threat of militant violence—will require sustained engagement, trust-building, and, perhaps, a willingness to compromise on both sides. For now, the guns have fallen (mostly) silent, and the diplomats are talking. Whether that will be enough to break the cycle remains to be seen.
In a region where peace has so often proved elusive, the Istanbul talks offer a glimmer of hope—but also a stark reminder of how quickly hope can turn to crisis along the Durand Line.
