Pakistan-Taliban talks under Saudi mediation end without breakthrough

ISLAMABAD: Saudi Arabia quietly arranged a round of direct talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan Taliban to ease ongoing tensions between the two neighbours over cross-border terrorism.

According to two sources familiar with the meeting, the discussions, held late Sunday night, ended without any breakthrough.

The closed-door session concluded in Riyadh, where both sides maintained their longstanding positions and showed little willingness to compromise, the sources told Dawn on condition of anonymity, as the negotiations were not publicly acknowledged.

They also indicated that another round of talks hosted by Saudi Arabia could take place in the near future.

The Riyadh talks came at a time when separate diplomatic efforts jointly mediated by Turkey and Qatar have stalled.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier announced that Pakistan would send a delegation, but the visit has yet to materialize.

As a result of Turkey-Qatar efforts, a fragile ceasefire was achieved after clashes in early October. However, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said during a weekly briefing on Friday that the ceasefire failed because it depended on the cessation of terrorist activities.

According to sources, the delegations in Riyadh largely included the same participants who had attended previous rounds in Istanbul. For instance, the Pakistani delegation included a diplomat from the Foreign Office.

During the talks, Saudi officials proposed that Pakistan also consider restoring bilateral trade alongside discussions on cross-border terrorism. Islamabad, however, reportedly rejected this suggestion.

According to the sources at Saudi Arabia’s request, both parties agreed to keep the Riyadh meeting out of the public eye.