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KARACHI: Iran Air, the national flag carrier of Iran, completed its inaugural flight to Pakistan’s southwestern city of Quetta on Oct. 29, the Pakistan Airports Authority (PAA) said, marking the airline’s first direct connection between Mashhad and the Balochistan capital.

The airline will now operate one flight every Wednesday on the Mashhad–Zahedan–Quetta route, with the service expected to strengthen air connectivity and boost trade and tourism between the two neighboring countries.

“Iran Air flight 826 will now operate once weekly every Wednesday, arriving in Quetta at 9:30pm,” the PAA said in a statement on Thursday.

Balochistan Governor Jaffar Khan Mandokhel was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony, which was also attended by Iran’s Consul General Ali Reza Rajaei and other dignitaries. The national anthems of both countries were played on the occasion.

The launch of Iran Air’s Quetta flight is expected to greatly facilitate travel for Shia pilgrims from Balochistan, who frequently visit Iranian cities of Mashhad and Qom.

The new air service will offer a safer, faster and more convenient alternative to the long and often challenging road journey through border crossings on buses, which have at times been targeted by separatist militants.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan army said on Thursday 22 militants had been killed in counter-terror operations along the Afghan border since Oct. 28, as Islamabad agreed to extend peace talks with Kabul at the request of mediators from Turkiye and Qatar amid surging cross-border violence.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said 18 militants were killed on Oct. 28 and 29 in two encounters in the southwestern Balochistan province and four more were gunned down in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while trying to infiltrate from Afghanistan on Wednesday night. Both provinces share a frontier with Afghanistan. 

The ISPR said a “high-value terrorist commander,” identified as Amjad alias ‘Mazahim’, deputy to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Noor Wali Mehsud, was among those killed. 

“It is pertinent to highlight that the leadership of Fitna al Khawarij, while residing in Afghanistan, is orchestrating infiltration attempts into Pakistan,” the military said, using its term for the TTP. 

“It is once again reiterated that the Interim Afghan government must take concrete measures to ensure that Afghan soil is not used by kharji proxies to perpetrate terrorism against Pakistan.”

The ISPR described the militants slain in Balochistan as “Indian-sponsored terrorists,” saying 14 were killed in Quetta district’s Chiltan Mountains and four more in Kech district after troops discovered a “terrorist hideout.” 

Pakistan has long blamed India for backing militant networks, including the TTP, a charge New Delhi denies.

Talks between Pakistan and the Taliban-led Afghan government, mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, began on Oct. 25 but ended without agreement earlier this week, with Islamabad accusing Kabul of failing to curb the TTP. 

After the collapse of the initial round earlier this week, a security official said on Thursday Pakistan would remain in Istanbul “to resume the negotiations,” emphasizing the demand that Afghanistan take “clear, verifiable and effective action against terrorists.”

The ongoing dialogue follows deadly border clashes earlier in October that left dozens dead and triggered the worst fighting between the two neighbors since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Both nations agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on Oct. 19 but has not been able to find common ground in the ongoing second round of talks.

Pakistan has long accused the TTP of using sanctuaries inside Afghanistan to launch attacks, while Kabul denies harboring the group and says Pakistan’s security challenges are an internal problem. 

Speaking to a local TV channel on Thursday, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that a delegation from Islamabad had agreed to remain in Istanbul to continue negotiations with Afghan officials. 

“As of now, there has been no breakthrough,” he told Geo News. “But our mediators in Turkiye and Qatar, our friends, the defense ministers and the intelligence chiefs in Turkiye, are trying their best to resolve this issue through negotiations.”

Asif said Pakistan’s delegation had been preparing to return home when mediators asked them to stay and give diplomacy another chance. 

“Negotiations have not yet begun,” he said. “But our delegation is in Istanbul. Our friends in both countries are playing a constructive part in this. When they come up with a solution, then negotiations can resume.”

He reiterated that any progress would depend on Kabul’s willingness to prevent attacks from its territory. 

“This is a prerequisite,” Asif said. “Until this prerequisite is established, investment and trade are very good … But if they are adamant or insist on becoming an Indian proxy and are pushing for the peace of Pakistan, then they are welcome.”