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All the parties also agreed to keep the dialogue after seven
days of peace talks mediated by China in the western Chinese
city of Urumqi under China mediation, Foreign Ministry
spokesperson Mao Ning said.
“The three parties agreed to explore a comprehensive solution to
the issues in the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan,
and clarified the core and priority issues that need to be
addressed,” Mao said during the daily briefing in Beijing.
She said that they acknowledged that “terrorism is the core
issue affecting the relationship.”
Afghanistan and Pakistan said that they won't “take actions that
would escalate or complicate the situation.”
There was no comment from Islamabad about the weeklong talks.
But Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Abdul Qahar Balkhi,
said on Wednesday that the talks between the Afghan and
Pakistani delegations, hosted and mediated by China in Urumqi,
have concluded.
In a post on X, he said that the talks were held in a
“constructive atmosphere,” with discussions focusing on
bilateral relations, security issues and regional stability.
Balkhi thanked Beijing for hosting the talks and expressed hope
that the process would help strengthen trust, deepen relations
and promote effective cooperation in the region.
The talks began last week in Urumqi at the invitation of China,
in an effort to stop the conflict that began between the two
countries in February.
Pakistan, which declared it was in “open war” with its neighbor,
has also carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including in
the capital Kabul.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the talks had
been constructive.
The United Nations’ office for the coordination of humanitarian
affairs in Afghanistan said on Tuesday that the conflict had
displaced 94,000 people overall, while 100,000 people in two
Afghan districts near the border have been completely cut off by
the fighting since February.
Even during the talks, Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of
carrying out shelling across its border on several occasions.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing a safe haven to
militants who carry out deadly attacks inside Pakistan,
especially the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban
Pakistan or TTP. The group is separate from but allied with the
Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 following
the chaotic withdrawal of U.S.-led troops. Kabul denies the
charge.
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Abdul Qahar Afghan contributed to this story from Kabul,
Afghanistan.
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