From April 1 to 7, representatives from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and China held a week of informal exploratory peace talks in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. The objective was to de-escalate tension on the Pak-Afghan border and agree on terms for establishing peace.

China’s foreign ministry has issued a statement saying that peace talks explored the possibility of a comprehensive solution to the conflict, which had broken out between the two countries in October 2025. With the departure of winter, Pakistan experienced a wave of terrorism striking multiple locations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In late February this year, spearheaded by air strikes, Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab Lil Haq (righteous fury) in response to cross-border terrorism coming from Afghanistan. Pakistan was extremely annoyed at the quadcopter attacks on its check posts, which claimed lives. Pakistan declared it an open war and launched retaliatory air strikes, which hit both urban and rural areas, including Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, and Nangarhar, where possible sanctuaries could be available. Pakistan’s forces even took control of five Afghan check posts in the Paktia region (opposite South Waziristan) and hoisted the Pakistani flag there as a symbol of punitive victory. During the operation, at the request of Turkiye, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, Pakistan made a brief pause on March 18 to respect Eid-ul-Fitr. However, it was over after March 24. This was the time when China entered the scene.

China has been offering a third-party platform and communicating with both countries to........

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