(MENAFN- Live Mint) Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Friday that the Afghan delegation agreed with the Pakistani delegation to resolve the conflict between the two warring countries. However, negotiations were suspended, with "no programme for the fourth round of talks," said the minister.

Deadlock persisted between Pakistan and Afghan Taliban as their peace talks last week ended without any agreement to tackle the thorny issues of cross-border terrorism, sources told news agency PTI.

Why did peace talks fail?

The third round of talks began on Thursday and continued for two days but Pakistan failed to get a written commitment from Kabul to take action against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants accused of launching an attack against Pakistan by using Afghan soil.

The talks began on October 29 in Doha with both Qatar and Turkiye mediating between the two sides following armed clashes between October 11 and 15, which caused human losses on both sides.

The first round ended without any tangible progress, but the two sides agreed to another round on October 25 in Istanbul, which also remained fruitless. The third and latest round also met the same fate.

What did Pakistani minister say?

Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told a private TV channel on Friday night that the negotiations were suspended.

He was quoted by Geo TV as saying, "There is a complete deadlock. The negotiations have entered an indefinite phase."

The minister thanked Turkiye and Qatar for their "sincere efforts" to mediate tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

"They support our stance. Even the Afghan delegation agreed with us; however, they were not ready to sign a written agreement," he said, adding that Pakistan would accept only a formal, written accord.

"They wanted verbal assurances to be accepted, which is not possible in international negotiations," Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said.

Asif said the mediators had done their best but eventually lost hope.

"If they had even a little optimism, they would have asked us to stay. Our return empty-handed shows that even they have given up on Kabul," he said.

The minister reiterated that Pakistan's position remained firm and clear.

"Our only demand is that Afghanistan must ensure its soil is not used for attacks on Pakistan," he said.

He warned that Pakistan would respond if provoked.

"If there is any attack from Afghan soil, we will respond accordingly," he said, adding that as long as there is no aggression, the ceasefire will remain intact.

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