Pakistan and Afghan Taliban Resume Talks in China as Beijing Seeks Durable Ceasefire
Delegations meet in Urumqi with China mediating efforts to end more than a month of deadly cross-border fighting; official confirmation remains pending
ISLAMABAD — April 1, 2026 — Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have resumed talks in China, with Beijing mediating efforts to broker a durable ceasefire after more than a month of intense cross-border fighting, Pakistani officials said on Wednesday, March 31.
Representatives from both countries are meeting in Urumqi, the capital of China’s Xinjiang region, according to officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media . The talks began after both sides accepted China’s offer to mediate, sources said .
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China has not commented on the talks, and Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs neither confirmed nor denied the latest development . An Afghan official told AP that the five-member delegation from Kabul includes representatives from the foreign and interior ministries, the defense ministry, and the country’s intelligence agency .
Strained Relations and Escalating Conflict
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been high since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of providing safe haven for militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is separate but closely allied with the Afghan Taliban . Kabul denies the allegations.
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The current round of fighting erupted in late February after Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan. On March 1, a Pakistani airstrike hit a drug treatment hospital in Kabul, with Afghan authorities reporting more than 400 people killed . Pakistan has denied targeting civilians, saying its forces struck ammunition depots and “terrorist infrastructure” .
Pakistan declared itself in “open war” with Afghanistan in February, and the conflict has since involved repeated cross-border airstrikes, artillery exchanges, and ground clashes . Although the two sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, fighting later resumed at a lower intensity .
China’s Mediation Role
China has been actively seeking to mediate the conflict since late February. Beijing sent its special envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, to meet his Pakistani counterpart last month after visiting Kabul . China has pledged to play a “constructive role in de-escalating tensions” between the two neighbors .
The current talks come after previous mediation efforts by Qatar and Turkey failed to produce a lasting agreement. A Qatari-mediated ceasefire reached in October was undermined by renewed fighting, and peace talks held in Istanbul in November also failed .
Regional and International Concerns
The violence has alarmed the international community, particularly because militant groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State remain present in the region and have sought to regroup amid the instability . The fighting has displaced tens of thousands of civilians on both sides of the border.
Pakistan’s former special envoy for Afghanistan, Asif Durrani, said that if the talks lead to an agreement, the critical issue will be a verification mechanism to ensure Afghan territory is not used for attacks against Pakistan .
A Pakistani official said the country’s demands from Afghanistan “remain unchanged,” urging Kabul to “take verifiable action” against extremists and “ensure that Afghan territory is not used as a base for launching attacks against Pakistan” .
Parallel Diplomatic Engagement
The talks in Urumqi coincided with high-level diplomatic engagement in Beijing between Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on March 31 . The two leaders discussed bilateral relations, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC 2.0), and the situation in Afghanistan .
Dar also briefed Wang on Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts, including a recent Islamabad meeting of foreign ministers from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt focused on achieving a cessation of conflict in the Middle East .
Outlook
As of Wednesday, the talks in Urumqi were expected to continue for several days, according to officials, with discussions described as only the beginning of a peace process between the two sides . Pakistani officials said the talks are aimed at establishing a foundation for full-scale dialogue .
Whether the talks will produce a durable ceasefire remains uncertain, given the deep mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul and their divergent accounts of the fighting’s causes and casualties. Both sides dispute casualty figures from the airstrikes in February and March .
The involvement of China, a close partner to both Pakistan and Afghanistan, offers a rare diplomatic opening, but verification mechanisms and concrete security guarantees will likely determine whether any agreement can hold.
SOURCES / INPUTS
Arab News: Pakistan, Afghan Taliban resume talks in China as Beijing seeks ceasefire
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