A high-level delegation from Turkiye is set to arrive in Islamabad next week to address rising tensions between Pakistan and the Afghanistan Taliban regime to explore a peaceful solution, media have reported on Saturday.
Turkiye’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Dr Irfan Neziroglu, spoke to a media outlet on Friday during a reception celebrating Oman’s National Day, hosted by Ambassador Fahad Sulaiman Khalaf Al-Kharusi.
He confirmed that the upcoming visit will take place and said that the delegation will include the Turkish intelligence chief and key ministers. Turkish Minister for Energy Alparslan Bayraktar will also be part of the delegation.
The visit was first announced earlier this month by Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Baku.
Earlier talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul ended without an agreement due to the Kabul government’s reluctance to act against terrorist groups operating from its territory.
Dr Neziroglu, who played an active role in facilitating the Istanbul trilateral talks on Afghanistan, emphasized that Turkiye seeks to ensure no terrorist activity originates from Afghan soil against Pakistan.
“Both countries should live like brothers. Turkiye is determined to make it possible,” he said.
Tensions escalated after Taliban forces and the India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as Fitna al-Khawarij, launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan on October 12.
In retaliation, Pakistani Armed Forces carried out a self-defence operation, killing over 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) reported that 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred during the clashes.
Security forces also carried out precision strikes in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Kabul, as well as in North and South Waziristan, successfully destroying multiple militant strongholds.
During the Doha talks on October 19, the two sides agreed on a temporary ceasefire. Pakistan later held several meetings in Istanbul aiming to develop a mechanism to stop cross-border terrorism from Afghan soil.
However, the Istanbul talks failed to achieve results as Kabul reportedly used the discussions to malign Pakistan rather than address Islamabad’s core concern of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.