Pak, Afghan media report Istanbul talks ‘failure’ but present different narratives

Through the three-day Afghanistan-Pakistan follow-up meeting in Istanbul — aimed at implementing the Doha agreement of October 18-19 — accounts from Kabul appeared as cautious hedging around binding concessions while dispatches from Islamabad read as pressure-based diplomacy.

Though the media in both countries framed the negotiations, mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, as a high-stakes, short-term diplomatic effort, but emphasised different fault lines.

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But in the end, both narratives converged on a basic outcome, that no joint agreement or signed document emerged from Istanbul talks, and the fragile ceasefire declared earlier at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border remained the only concrete concession followed by lingering distrust.

Reports originating from either side quoted Pa