Three days of talks in Istanbul between Afghanistan and Pakistan aimed at forging a long-term truce ended Tuesday without agreement, delegates and state media said.

The session, hosted by Turkey with Qatar as co-mediator, followed a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19 after some of the deadliest cross-border clashes in years.

The core impasse concerned Pakistan’s demand that Kabul curb operations of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad says uses Afghan soil to stage attacks; Afghan representatives countered that the Taliban government does not control all nonstate actors and rejected unconditional commitments.

The talks unfolded against a backdrop of recent cross-border strikes and battles that left dozens dead and closed key crossings, heightening fears of wider confrontation.

Mediators failed to secure a verification mechanism or dispute-resolution framework, leaving the Doha truce fragile though still publicly upheld by both sides.

Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s defense minister, warned that failure to reach durable arrangements could risk “open war,” underscoring the stakes for regional stability.

Diplomats said discussions may continue informally, but for now, Istanbul produced no breakthrough. Humanitarian groups and traders, meanwhile, urged protection for civilians and reopening of border routes to stem an economic squeeze affecting communities on both sides.