The confrontation, which left dozens of dead, including civilians, began two weeks ago after the explosions in the center of Kabul, which the Taliban government attributed to its Pakistani neighbor, launching a retaliatory offensive on the border.
Islamabad, promising a forceful response, carried out “precision strikes” against armed groups on Afghan soil that are at the center of the conflict, security sources said.
After fresh clashes left soldiers and civilians dead, both sides declared an initial 48-hour ceasefire that collapsed two days later, with Kabul blaming Islamabad.
A second truce following the Doha talks was finalized on Sunday thanks to mediation by Qatar and Türkiye, which appears to have held, although the terms remain unclear.
In Saturday’s talks, negotiators are expected to detail the “mechanisms” to ensure a return to stability announced in Doha.
It was unclear when talks would begin or where they would meet in Istanbul.
The Afghan delegation, which left for Türkiye on Friday, will be led by its deputy interior minister, Haji Najib. Islamabad has not said who it will send for the talks.
For the Taliban government, the objective is to guarantee the territorial integrity of Afghanistan.
For Islamabad, the negotiations must address “the threat of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil towards Pakistan,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi said on Friday.
Security issues are at the center of recurring bilateral tensions.
Faced with a resurgence in attacks on its security forces, Islamabad has repeatedly accused its Afghan neighbor of “harbouring” groups it considers “terrorists”, mainly the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), an accusation that Kabul denies.
During the confrontation, Islamabad demanded that the Taliban authorities “regain control” over the fighters present on Afghan soil.
From the Pakistani perspective, this would be key to the Istanbul talks, explained Ibraheem Bahiss, an analyst with the International Crisis Group in Afghanistan.
“The meeting in Istanbul is going to be essential because there the so-called mechanism will be agreed in terms of when Pakistan fears that anti-Pakistan elements inside Afghanistan are doing things against Pakistan,” he told AFP.
He said such “mechanisms” could involve sharing intelligence on armed groups.
“For example, Pakistan would give coordinates of where it suspects TTP fighters or commanders are, and instead of carrying out attacks, Afghanistan would be expected to carry out actions against them,” he said.
But it was unclear whether that would end the problem.
“I’m not that hopeful that a technical mechanism will actually address the fundamental factors of this escalation cycle,” he admitted.
Before the latest skirmishes, Pakistan had long been the Taliban’s biggest supporter, reinforcing them in Afghanistan to achieve so-called strategic depth against archrival India.
Two weeks ago, the initial explosions in Kabul, which triggered the escalation, took place while the Taliban foreign minister was on an unprecedented visit to India.
Turkey has not confirmed any details about Saturday’s meeting beyond praising their joint decision in Doha to “establish mechanisms to strengthen peace and stability” and pledging to “continue supporting efforts” to achieve this.