A critical round of negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, held in Turkiye, has ended without a breakthrough, with Islamabad’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar accusing the Afghan Taliban of engaging in a ‘blame game, deflection and ruses’ rather than addressing pressing security concerns.
In a statement posted on his X handle, the minister expressed regret that the discussions failed to produce any workable solution, asserting that the Afghan delegation would not accept any responsibility for ongoing issues.
Minister Tarar stated that the Afghan Taliban representatives had repeatedly agreed in principle to Pakistan”s “logical and legitimate demand” for credible and decisive action against terrorist organizations operating from their territory.
He revealed that Pakistan provided “sufficient and irrefutable evidence” of terrorist activity, which was acknowledged by both the Afghan delegation and the Turkish hosts. Despite this acknowledgement, the minister lamented that the Afghan side gave no assurances and continuously deviated from the core issue that initiated the dialogue process.
The Information Minister recalled that Pakistan has persistently engaged with the Afghan Taliban Regime regarding cross-border terrorism from groups identified as the Indian-abetted Fitna al Khwarij (TTP) and the Indian proxy, Fitna al Hindustan (BLA).
He emphasized that the Afghan administration has been urged time and again to fulfill its written commitments to Pakistan and the international community as outlined in the Doha Agreement. However, Tarar described these fervent efforts as futile due to what he termed the Afghan Taliban Regime’s “unabated support to anti-Pakistan terrorists.”
Conveying a stern message, the minister declared that after four years of sustaining huge losses of personnel and material, ‘Pakistan’s patience has run its course.’ He further suggested the Taliban regime thrives on a war economy and desires to mire the Afghan people in a “needless war.”
These crucial discussions in Istanbul, and a previous round in Doha, were facilitated on the request of Qatar and Turkiye. The single-point agenda was to solicit action from the Afghan Taliban Regime to prevent the use of Afghan soil as a training and logistical base for terrorist activities in Pakistan.
While thanking Qatar and Turkiye for facilitating the dialogue, Tarar affirmed that the security of Pakistan”s people is of paramount importance. He assured that the government would continue to take all possible measures and employ all required resources to decimate terrorists, their sanctuaries, and their supporters.