Turkey has withdrawn from its mediation role in the escalating Pakistan–Afghanistan dispute after repeated diplomatic efforts failed to narrow deep-rooted differences between Islamabad and the Islamic Emirate, India’s CNN News18 reported citing senior security and diplomatic sources.

Multiple rounds of talks facilitated by Turkey, alongside Qatar and Saudi Arabia, ended without progress, as Kabul firmly rejected what it described as Pakistan’s “illegitimate” conditions for a broader peace settlement. Turkish officials have formally informed Islamabad that Afghanistan remains unwilling to accommodate Pakistan’s core security demands, prompting Ankara to step back from further mediation.

CNN News18 reported that at the center of the impasse are Pakistan’s demands that the Islamic Emirate hand over Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, establish a five-kilometre buffer zone along the Durand Line, impose stricter controls on Afghan transit trade and goods movement, recognise Islamabad’s security primacy over Kabul, and accelerate the repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

Afghan authorities have categorically rejected these demands, arguing they undermine Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

Following concerns from the residents of Samangan over rising fuel prices, the distribution and sale of coal at low prices has begun in Aybak, the provincial capital, by local authorities.

This program, launched in cooperation with several government agencies, plans to sell 12,000 tons of coal, at 24 AFN for every seven kilograms.

The aim of this initiative is to prevent price hikes, hoarding, and unauthorized sales.

Shamsullah Shamshad, head of Samangan’s mines, said: “The distribution of 12,000 tons of coal to the poor people of Samangan province, to help them cope with this winter, is being carried out at a very low and affordable price by the elders and the Prime Minister’s Office of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.”

Officials from the contracted company also said that residents of Aybak city and the districts of Samangan can purchase the coal they need at reduced prices.

Ziauddin Jahesh, head of the contracted company, stated: “A maximum of one ton of coal has been allocated for each citizen.”

This initiative comes after citizens of Samangan had previously complained about rising fuel prices and called for government attention to the matter.

Siyamuddin, a resident of Samangan, said: “We request the government’s help, as people’s economic situation is weak and they cannot afford it. We also hope that this kind of assistance will continue to increase.”

The sale of coal at reduced prices is also continuing in some other cities across the country.