Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the dialogue produced no workable solution, accusing the Afghan Taliban regime of failing to honor Doha-agreement pledges.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif claimed negotiators repeatedly withdrew from deals after being instructed by Kabul and blamed India for meddling.
Pakistan thanked Qatar and Turkiye for facilitation and vowed to continue all measures needed to protect its citizens from cross-border terrorism.
Pakistan Says Talks with Afghan Taliban on Cross-Border Terrorism Failed
After four days of negotiations hosted in Turkiye, Pakistani officials said Afghan negotiators reneged on commitments, blaming Kabul (and alleging Indian interference) as talks collapsed.
Summary
Pakistani officials revealed that negotiations with the Afghan Taliban to combat cross-border terrorism had failed, claiming Kabul had fallen short on its pledges to curb militancy. The host, Turkiye, facilitated the four-day negotiations, which started on Saturday. Pakistani and Afghan officials tried to find a common ground but were unable to come to an agreement.
Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, confirmed the peace talks ended without a breakthrough. “The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution,” Tarar said in a post on social media.
He said Pakistan had long sought cooperation from Kabul against militants targeting the country.
Tarar said, ever since the assumption of control in Kabul, Pakistan has repeatedly engaged with the Afghan Taliban Regime regarding persistent cross-border terrorism.
Tarar added that Islamabad had asked the Taliban regime “time and again to fulfil their written commitments to Pakistan and to the international community in the Doha Agreement.”
However, he said, “Pakistan’s fervent efforts proved futile due to the Afghan Taliban Regime’s unabated support to anti-Pakistan terrorists.”
“The Taliban regime bears no responsibility towards the people of Afghanistan and thrives on a war economy,” he said, adding that it “desires to drag and mire the Afghan people into a needless war.”
“Pakistan has always desired, advocated and immensely sacrificed for peace and prosperity for the people of Afghanistan,” Tarar said.
He thanked Qatar, Turkiye, and other friendly nations “for their support and sincere efforts to bring about a peaceful solution to the problem of terrorism.” Pakistan's security comes first, Tarar reiterated. "Pakistan places the safety of its citizens first," he stated.
On Tuesday night, Khawaja Asif, the minister of defence, told Geo News that an agreement was on the verge of being reached with Afghanistan, but Afghan negotiators retreated because Kabul interfered during the negotiations. He explained that Taliban negotiators retracted an agreement "four or five times" after being given orders by Kabul.
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“Whenever we got close to an agreement — either in the last four days or last week — when negotiators reported to Kabul, then there was intervention and the agreement was withdrawn,” he outlined.
Asif also blamed India for the failure of the talks, calling Kabul “a tool for Delhi.” After the failure of talks, the security sources in Pakistan said that the security of its people is of paramount importance to Pakistan.
“We will continue to take all possible measures necessary to protect our people from the menace of terrorism and assure them that the Government of Pakistan will continue to employ all the resources which are required in this regard to decimate the terrorists, their sanctuaries, their abetters and supporters,” they said.
With PTI inputs.
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