Afghan and Pakistani troops briefly exchanged fire along their shared border on Thursday (November 6, 2025), both nations said, on the same day talks to find a lasting peace restarted in Istanbul.

Each nation blamed the other for starting the exchange of gunfire near Spin Boldak, an Afghan border town towards the south of their 2,600-km (1,600-mile) frontier.

There were no reports of casualties, and spokespeople for both sides said they remained committed to a ceasefire and continued dialogue in Istanbul.

Militaries from the South Asian neighbours previously clashed last month, with dozens killed in the worst such violence since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

Both sides signed a ceasefire in Doha on October 19, but a second round of negotiations in Istanbul last week ended without a long-term deal, due to a disagreement over militant groups hostile to Pakistan operating inside Afghanistan.

“We hope that wisdom prevails and peace is restored in the region,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif told reporters on Wednesday.

He said Islamabad was pursuing a “one-point agenda” of convincing Afghanistan to rein in militants attacking Pakistani forces across their shared border, allegedly with the Taliban’s knowledge.

Two government sources said the head of Pakistan’s military intelligence wing, Asim Malik, was leading the Pakistani delegation.

The Afghan delegation is led by intelligence chief Abdul Haq Wasiq, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told state broadcaster RTA.

Talks aimed at preventing repeat of violence

Pakistan and the Taliban had for decades enjoyed warm ties, but relations have deteriorated sharply in recent years.

Islamabad accuses the Taliban of harbouring the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group that has clashed repeatedly with the Pakistani military. Kabul denies this, saying it has no control over the group.

The October clashes began after Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the month on Kabul, the Afghan capital, among other locations, targeting the head of the Pakistani Taliban.

The Afghan Taliban administration responded with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the border, which remains closed to trade.

While the ceasefire between the two nations’ militaries had held until Thursday’s exchanges, clashes have continued between the Pakistani military and the Pakistani Taliban throughout the period, with multiple deaths reported on both sides.

Officials from Pakistan and Afghanistan were still trying to find common ground to settle their dispute over cross-border military and other issues despite three days of talks held in Turkiye, says Sources

Talks began on Saturday (October 25, 2025) and continued through Monday (October 27, 2025), but without any final agreement.

Quoting officials, the Dawn newspaper reported that a final agreement still remained elusive.

Sources familiar with the closed-door discussions said that while “most of the points had been mutually agreed between the two sides”, the mechanism for verifiable action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory continued to be the main sticking point.

“We kept hoping that we would be able to sign a mutual document with Afgha­nistan soon, followed by a joint statement, but it remains out of our reach,” the Dawn newspaper quoted one source as saying.

The atmosphere early on Monday (October 27) had been markedly positive. Participants des­c­­ribed “encouraging progress” and “serious engagement” from both delegations.

As the day wore on and talks stretched into the evening, optimism began to fade. “It is a difficult phase,” a source said.

By nightfall, it appeared that the process had once again hit a roadblock, according to the Dawn newspaper.

The Afghan Taliban delegation continued to resist putting anything in writing, particularly on the issue of providing verifiable guarantees to end support for the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), according to the participants.

The tone at the start of Monday’s (October 27) proceedings contrasted sharply with the pessimism that followed Sunday’s (October 26) session, when Pakistani officials told reporters that Islamabad had presented its final position to the Taliban delegation — a statement widely interpreted in local media as signalling the possible collapse of the talks.

In contrast to those reports, members of the Afghan negotiating team had on Sunday (October 26) night and Monday (October 27) morning continued to express optimism.

They maintained that the dialogue in Istanbul could still yield results, describing the remaining disagreements as “few” and “resolvable”.

“The Afghan side has made it clear that tensions benefit no one,” one member of the delegation said. “We are hopeful that these talks will produce a positive outcome.” Mediators from Turkiye and Qatar were said to share this sentiment, stressing the importance of maintaining engagement and preventing the process from unravelling.

Despite the lingering stalemate, diplomatic sources described Monday’s (October 27) session as “not without significance.”

“Even if the talks didn’t produce a breakthrough, the fact that both sides stayed engaged for three straight days is important,” one mediator said. “It shows that neither wants the process to collapse.” By late evening, negotiators in Istanbul were weighing whether to extend discussions into a fourth day, according to the Dawn newspaper.

Dozens of soldiers, civilians, and terrorists were killed in clashes earlier this month, creating a war-like situation; however, peace was restored temporarily on October 19 after the two sides held talks — facilitated by Qatar and Turkiye — in Doha.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Saturday (October 28, 2025) warned of an “all-out war” with the Afghan Taliban if the talks failed.

Afghanistan and Pakistan entered a third day of negotiations on Monday (October 27, 2025) to secure a lasting ceasefire, with Kabul urging “dialogue and understanding” after Islamabad warned of war if talks collapse.

Two weeks ago, Afghanistan launched a border offensive after explosions in Kabul that the Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan, sparking fierce clashes that left dozens dead on both sides, including civilians.

Islamabad responded with strikes against armed groups on Afghan soil, prompting further violence and a short-lived 48-hour ceasefire that collapsed soon after.

A second truce emerged following talks in Doha, mediated by Qatar and Turkiye, though its terms remain unclear.

The Istanbul round, which began on Saturday, aims to establish mechanisms to uphold the fragile truce and prevent renewed fighting.

“The second phase of negotiations is ongoing; we cannot predict the outcome and must wait for the end of the meeting,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told AFP on Monday.

“The only solution to resolve the recent issue with Pakistan is dialogue and understanding,” he added.

“Further progress in the talks depends on the positive attitude of the Afghan Taliban,” Pakistani security sources said on Sunday.

They accused Taliban negotiators of showing “stubbornness and a lack of seriousness”.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on Saturday that failure to reach a deal could lead to “open war”.

“We have the option, if no agreement takes place, we have an open war with them,” he said.

Pakistan has demanded “verifiable action” against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which it says launches attacks from Afghan soil.

Kabul denies harbouring militants and insists on safeguarding Afghanistan’s territorial integrity.

Taliban negotiators have reportedly asked Pakistan to stop violating Afghan airspace and refrain from supporting opposition groups.

On the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Malaysia, U.S. President Donald Trump said he could “solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis very quickly”.