Diplomacy is on pause in Afghanistan once more. At best, it is being wasted on talking about talks. Diplomacy only makes minor gains in the Pakistan-India context as well, and is derailed by untoward developments whenever there is a little flicker of hope.
An important factor behind the diplomatic impasse is the aversion of India and the Afghan Taliban to commence formal negotiations with Kabul and Islamabad respectively; both have a habit of attaching pre-conditions to negotiations.