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Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan are progressing at a steady pace, China said on Friday, following reports that the South Asian neighbours were meeting there to try to end their worst conflict since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
The ongoing conflict between the two nations began in February after the Afghan Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked aggression along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border. Pakistan then launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, killing scores of Afghan Taliban personnel and affiliated militants, and destroying multiple terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan.
China, which shares a western border with both nations, has been trying to mediate between Islamabad and Kabul, holding telephone calls with their foreign ministers and sending a special envoy on visits in March.
"Both Pakistan and Afghanistan attach importance to, and welcome, China's mediation, and are willing to sit down for talks again, which is a positive development," foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a daily press conference.
Mao did not say where the talks were being held, though the neighbours have previously said they were in the northwestern city of Urumqi.
China has been mediating and promoting talks, in close communication with both sides to build suitable conditions and provide a platform, Mao said, adding that the three countries would issue further information in due course.
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi confirmed the talks on Thursday, saying Islamabad had sent a delegation to Urumqi, China.
Addressing a weekly briefing, Andrabi said senior government officials were representing Pakistan in the talks.
The ongoing tensions between the two neighbours follow Pakistan's ongoing retaliatory actions in response to suicide bombings in Islamabad, Bajaur, and Bannu, all of which were traced back to militants based in Afghanistan.
Border tensions have flared up months after an October 2025 ceasefire, which followed brief clashes sparked by unprovoked firing by the Afghan Taliban personnel at several points along the border.
Islamabad, however, back then had agreed to an initial ceasefire at Kabul's request. The countries then later reached a ceasefire deal in Qatar, which was mediated by Doha and Turkiye.
Under the agreement, terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistani soil was to be stopped immediately.
However, the subsequent talks in Turkiye failed to yield an agreement, as the Afghan Taliban refused to address Islamabad’s key concern over terrorism originating from Afghan soil.
