PAKISTAN and Afghanistan have resumed peace talks in China, which is mediating between the two sides to broker a durable ceasefire after more than a month of fighting, two Pakistani officials said today.

Representatives from both countries are meeting in Urumqi, northern China, two sources familiar with the discussions said.

China has issued no comment and Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs neither confirmed nor denied the discussions.

Pakistan has accused Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban of providing a safe haven for militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, especially for the Pakistani Taliban. 

The group is separate but closely allied with the Afghan group, which took over Afghanistan in 2021 in the wake of a chaotic withdrawal by United States-led troops. Kabul denies the charge.

Tensions have been high since last month, when Kabul said a Pakistani air attack had hit a drug treatment hospital in the Afghan capital, killing more than 400 people. 

The United Nations humanitarian affairs office has said the death toll remains under verification. Pakistan has denied targeting civilians, saying it struck an ammunition depot.

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said last month Islamabad had “only targeted terrorist infrastructure” in Kabul, saying: “We have just gone after the Afghan Taliban regime, their military setups, their terrorist infrastructure and all the setups which are supporting or promoting terrorists.”

Although the two sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, fighting later resumed at a lower intensity compared with the heavy clashes seen in February and March, when Pakistan’s air force repeatedly targeted Pakistani Taliban positions and Afghan military sites.

The latest fighting also undermined a Qatari-mediated ceasefire reached in October.