Taliban will hold ‘responsible’ talks with Pakistan in China

Taliban said on Thursday they would hold “comprehensive and responsible” talks with Pakistan in China, as the two sides seek to ease tensions after weeks of cross-border fighting.

In a statement, the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that it had sent what it described as a mid-level delegation to the Chinese city of Urumqi, where talks with Pakistani officials were expected to take place on Thursday.

The ministry said the delegation would participate with a “balanced and principled approach” and discuss a range of issues, including security, trade relations and regional cooperation. It added that the talks were being held at China’s request and would be conducted on the basis of “mutual respect” and “constructive engagement.”

The ministry said they believed diplomatic engagement grounded in noninterference and mutual understanding could lead to “practical and sustainable solutions” to disputes between the two sides.

This comes as Pakistan said on Thursday that responsibility for achieving “real progress” in ongoing talks in China rests with the Taliban, underscoring persistent tensions as cross-border fighting continues.

Speaking at a news briefing, Tahir Andrabi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, confirmed that a Pakistani delegation had traveled to China for negotiations with the Taliban.

He said the talks were part of Pakistan’s longstanding approach to support “a credible process” aimed at addressing militant safe havens and preventing cross-border attacks from Afghanistan’s territory.

“Our participation in these talks is a reaffirmation of our core concerns,” Andrabi said. “However, the responsibility for real progress in this process lies with Afghanistan,” he added, calling for “visible and verifiable” action against militant groups that he said operate from Afghanistan’s soil.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Taliban of failing to curb the activities of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, a militant group that has carried out attacks inside Pakistan. Taliban deny that the group operates from Afghanistan. A United Nations monitoring team has estimated that the group has around 6,000 fighters based there.

Taliban-affiliated media reported that a five-member delegation is representing the Taliban in the talks, including officials from their foreign, interior and defense ministries, as well as its intelligence agency. Taliban have not publicly confirmed the composition of the delegation.

The talks come as clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border enter their sixth week. The escalation began on Feb. 26 and has included cross-border shelling and Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. The UN has said that more than 76 civilians were killed in the first two weeks of fighting in eastern Afghanistan.

On Wednesday, Taliban said a Pakistani rocket strike in Kunar province killed one person and wounded five others, including four children.

Pakistan says its operations target militant infrastructure. Taliban deny that Afghanistan’s territory is used for attacks against neighboring countries.

Efforts to reduce tensions have so far produced limited results. Similar talks held last year in Istanbul, Doha and Saudi Arabia did not yield a lasting framework for de-escalation.

Separately, a meeting in Peshawar this week described as a joint peace jirga called for a ceasefire and renewed dialogue. However, according to people familiar with the gathering, no representatives from Afghanistan attended.