Pak-Afghan talks in Doha may prioritise immediate concerns than long-term political, economic issues

New Delhi: The Qatar-mediated negotiations between Afghanistan and Pakistan amid an extended, but uneasy truce, have brought some relief for victims and their families along the Durand Line, where the two neighbours were engaged in a fierce battle last week.

However, Afghan officials told the media that Pakistan conducted air strikes late Friday, October 17, in at least three locations in Paktika province, according to reports. The bombing, which killed at least 10 people, including three Afghan cricketers, broke the temporary ceasefire reportedly agreed upon by the two sides on Wednesday, October 15.

Islamabad had earlier, too, carried out similar attacks within Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul. Pakistan has justified the attacks over security rationales, accusing the Afghan leadership of harbouring groups hostile to Pakistan.

However, the alleged target of these bombings is said to be hiding elsewhere. There has been no confirmed report of Islamabad having issued a formal apology for the deaths of the Afghan cricketers or other civilian casualties.

The absence of an apology complicates the diplomatic environment in Doha by hardening Afghan public opinion against Pakistan and increasing pressure on Taliban negotiators to extract formal concessions or guarantees rather than accept a face-saving, non-binding statement.

The Pakistan delegation comprises Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief Asim Malik, known as Taliban baiters in recent times. Asif has been repeatedly alleging that the Taliban have “aligned with India,” while Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry claimed that Afghanistan has become a “hub for transnational terrorism”.

How much Pakistan will be able to convince Kabul’s delegation, led by Afghanistan’s Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqub Mujahid and the head of the country’s intelligence agency, Abdul Haq Wasiq, is a matter to be awaited.

Regional actors pushed for the meeting after a week of cross-border violence and Pakistani airstrikes that followed a short 48-hour ceasefire, which was reportedly extended for the Doha talks. Qatar occupies a unique mediating role in Afghan diplomacy and security diplomacy between Islamabad and Kabul after the Taliban’s return to power. It hosted earlier intra-Afghan negotiations between the hardliners and the pragmatic factions, as well as the Taliban leadership’s talks with the global community, serving as a neutral venue.

In fact, the United States — then with President Donald Trump in his first term — had signed the ‘Agreement for Bringing Peace to Afghanistan’ with the Taliban leadership in Doha on February 29, 2020.

In the current talks, the presence of defence ministers and intelligence chiefs may influence the agenda and the tone of the meeting. Their presence portrays prioritising immediate security questions over long-term diplomatic or economic issues.

However, it can also serve as a step forward to future negotiations. It is on Qatar to deftly guide talks dominated by military and intelligence heads where the priority should be on confidence-building measures — requiring public-facing reform and long-term political accommodations — along with an immediate truce.

Afghanistan’s Khaama Press quoted diplomatic observers saying that the Doha meeting will be a critical test of Qatar’s mediation efforts amid deep mistrust between Kabul and Islamabad.

Analysts warn that without a durable ceasefire and improved intelligence cooperation, the cross-border violence risks spiraling further, undermining regional stability and worsening the humanitarian toll in Afghanistan’s border provinces, the report added.

Doha’s mediating role is therefore crucial, where facilitators can help structure verification mechanisms, joint monitoring, or third-party observers that transform bilateral distrust into implementable steps. This will be the first official meeting between Afghanistan and Pakistan following intensified clashes between the two nations last week, being facilitated by Qatar and Turkey.

–IANS