Afghan, Pakistan peace talks enter third day as Trump again offers help

Afghanistan and Pakistan officials will meet in Istanbul on Monday for a third day of talks after failing to clinch a lasting peace, three sources familiar with the matter said, as U.S. President Donald Trump repeated an offer to mediate.



The South Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire in Doha on October 19 after days of border clashes that killed dozens in the worst such violence since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.



The current second round of peace talks mediated by Turkey aims to hammer out a long-term truce, but both sides have offered markedly different interpretations of the talks.



Two Pakistan security sources accused the Afghan Taliban of not cooperating with the dialogue process.



"The Pakistani delegation has made it clear that no compromise is possible on our core demands on cross border terrorism," one of the sources said.



A Taliban delegate to the talks dismissed as "false" the suggestion that the Islamist group was holding up the talks, adding that the discussions were still in progress.



"Overall the meeting is going well and we discussed multiple issues in a friendly environment," the person said.