Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime have agreed to uphold ceasefire following a fresh round of talks in Istanbul, confirmed Turkiye’s foreign ministry on late Thursday.
“Further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided in a principal level meeting in Istanbul on 6 November 2025,” read a joint statement on the talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan through the mediation of Turkiye and Qatar.
It further said that the meetings were held in Istanbul from October 25-30 aimed at solidifying the ceasefire which was agreed by Afghanistan and Pakistan in Doha on October 18-19.
“All parties have agreed to put in place a monitoring and verification mechanism that will ensure maintenance of peace and imposing penalty on the violating party,” it added.
The mediators — Turkiye and Qatar — express their appreciation for the active contribution of both parties and stand ready to continue cooperation with both sides for lasting peace and stability, read the statement.
Reacting to the development, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar said: “[We] hope terrorist actions will no longer take place.” He said that the Taliban regime must ensure its territory is not used against Pakistan.
The minister said that penalties would be determined for any violation of the ceasefire. The ceasefire agreement includes Taliban operations against “Fitna al-Khawarij”, Tarar added.
“Pakistan will now have a new forum to present evidence of cross-border terrorism,” he said, adding that decisions on reopening the Pakistan-Afghanistan border will be taken later.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said that the Taliban regime must not become a proxy for India, warning that such alignment could undermine Kabul’s sovereignty.
He added that Pakistan remains committed to its principled stance and hoped negotiations would proceed positively.
“Pakistan’s people and peace are our red lines,” the minister added. He said that India could not guarantee Afghanistan’s security.
Pakistan and Afghanistan resumed peace talks in Istanbul after Islamabad said the earlier four-day discussions had collapsed without a breakthrough.
The talks had broken down when the Taliban refused to provide verifiable guarantees that groups such as the TTP would not use Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan.
The minister for information confirmed the talks ended without progress despite Pakistan presenting evidence-backed counterterrorism demands.
Pakistan had recommenced talks at the request of mediators Turkey and Qatar to give peace another chance, while repeatedly urging Kabul to act against militants using its territory as a safe haven.
A source close to the Afghan Taliban delegation said most issues had been resolved peacefully, but a few Pakistani demands needed more time because they were hard to agree.
Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said the negotiations had yet to produce a breakthrough and that progress would depend on Kabul changing its stance under the guidance of Qatar and Turkey.
He warned that any attempts to destabilise Pakistan would be met decisively and said Pakistan welcomed a positive role from Kabul, but would act if the Taliban remained obstinate or acted as India’s proxy.
Pakistan has been grappling with rising terror incidents, particularly in KP and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban regime took power in 2021.
The government has repeatedly urged the Taliban regime to rein in terrorist groups responsible for countless attacks in Pakistan.
However, the Taliban regime largely remained indifferent to Pakistan's demands and provided refuge to multiple terrorist groups targeting security forces and civilians.
Instead of addressing Pakistan's concerns about cross-border terrorism, the Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing along the border on October 12.
Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated swiftly, killing over 200 Taliban fighters and affiliated militants; however, as many as 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred during the border clashes.
Security forces also conducted strikes inside Afghanistan, including in Kabul, destroying terrorists’ hideouts in the country.
Hostilities between forces of the two nations ceased after Pakistan accepted the Taliban regime's request for a temporary ceasefire on October 17.
Delegations from the two countries later met for talks mediated by Qatar in Doha, where they agreed on a ceasefire agreement.
Turkiye then hosted the second round of talks in Istanbul, which began on October 25.
However, the talks ended inconclusively after four days over what Pakistani authorities described as the Taliban delegation's "illogical" arguments, which they said were "detached from ground realities".