Harsha Kakar

Kakarharsha@gmail.com

The latest round of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks, held in Istanbul, mediated by Turkey and Qatar, has collapsed. These talks were led by intelligence chiefs on both sides, which meant that Pakistan’s polity had no role, as also Rawalpindi’s intent was to coerce Kabul to adhere to their terms under threat of military action. This was laced with announcements of sharing information on presence of terrorist groups on Afghan soil.

The Pak side was led by their DG ISI, while the Afghan delegation by their head of Intelligence. Pakistan had attempted to browbeat the Taliban but failed to gauge their determination. Most importantly, the tenuous ceasefire, agreed to in Doha in the first round of talks, would remain in place.

Pakistan wanted the Taliban to take

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