Afghanistan says peace talks held in China to end fighting with Pakistan have been constructive

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday peace talks held in China between Afghanistan and Pakistan to halt cross-border fighting between the two neighbors have been constructive.

The talks began last week in the western Chinese city of Urumqi following an invitation by China, in an effort to stop the conflict that began between the two countries in February, leaving hundreds dead. Pakistan, which declared it was in “open war” with its neighbor, has also carried out airstrikes inside Afghanistan, including in the capital Kabul.

The United Nations’ office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in Afghanistan posted on X 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.

The conflict has alarmed the international community, particularly as the area is one where other militant organizations, including al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, still have a presence in the region.

In a post on X, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal said

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Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi met with China’s ambassador to Afghanistan Tuesday, Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Zia Ahmad Takal wrote on X, thanking Beijing for arranging and hosting the talks, and Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates for their mediation efforts.

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“Noting that constructive discussions have taken place so far, FM Muttaqi expressed hope that minor interpretations would not hinder the progress of the negotiations,” Takal wrote.

There have been few official statements regarding the discussions since they began on April 1 between mid-level delegations from the two sides.

Even during the talks, Afghanistan accused Pakistan of carrying out shelling across its border on several occasions, killing and wounding civilians. Pakistan has not commented.

Pakistan often 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.

On Tuesday, Pakistan’s military commanders vowed to continue ongoing counterterrorism operations until, as they put it, “militant safe havens” are eliminated and “the use of Afghan territory against Pakistan” ends.

The remarks came during a meeting of top military commanders chaired by Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, according to a statement from the military.

The meeting reviewed the prevailing internal and external security environment. The statement said “terrorist proxies” operating on behalf of “external sponsors,” along with their facilitators, would be pursued and eliminated “relentlessly and without exception.”

The recent fighting, the most severe between the two neighbors, began after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan. The clashes disrupted a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in October, after earlier fighting had killed dozens of soldiers, civilians and suspected militants.

On March 17, a Pakistani airstrike hit a drug-treatment center in Kabul, which Afghan officials said killed more than 400 people. Pakistan denied it had targeted civilians, saying its strikes were against military facilities.

Associated Press writers Abdul Qahar Afghan in Kabul, Afghanistan and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan contributed to this report.