Turkish delegation to mediate Kabul-Islamabad tensions

KABUL (Pajhwok): A high-level delegation from Türkiye is reportedly scheduled to travel to Islamabad next week to explore a peaceful solution to the disputes between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Geo TV reported that İrfan Neziroğlu, the Turkish ambassador to Pakistan, shared this information in an interview with the media on Friday.

The report states that the delegation will include the head of Türkiye’s intelligence agency and several Turkish ministers.

Neziroğlu said: “Both countries should live like brothers. Türkiye is determined to make this possible.”

It is worth mentioning that this planned visit was first announced earlier this month by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Türkiye, during his meeting with Shehbaz Sharif, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in Baku.

This comes after Pakistani military attacks on Afghanistan and subsequent retaliatory attacks by Afghanistan, during which negotiations between Kabul and Islamabad—mediated by Qatar and Türkiye—were held once in Doha and twice in Istanbul.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the chief spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said that the ‘irresponsible ‘behavior and lack of cooperation from the Pakistani delegation prevented the talks in Türkiye from producing results, despite the goodwill of the IEA and the efforts of the mediators.

sa/ma