Saudi Arabia on Sunday welcomed the announcement of an immediate ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Source: x.com/arabnews
Pakistan agreed to resume negotiations with the Afghan Taliban at the request of the host countries, a move that will keep the Pakistani delegation in Istanbul longer than expected.
The decision was taken to give another chance to the negotiation process, but Pakistan’s core demand – that Afghan territory should not be used to carry out terrorism against Pakistan – will remain central to any renewed discussions.
Radio Pakistan also posted on X about the renegotiations.
The talks will focus on Pakistan’s core demand that Afghanistan take clear, verifiable and effective measures against terrorists. Pakistan had repeatedly pressured the Taliban to prevent cross-border attacks and fulfill written commitments made under the Doha agreement.
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Information Minister Attaullah Tarrar, who had previously described the Istanbul talks as fruitless, said the Afghan delegation had avoided giving viable guarantees despite “logical and legitimate demands” being presented to it.
He said Pakistan had presented strong and “indisputable” evidence of cross-border terrorist activity, which was acknowledged by the hosts and the Afghan side, but no practical guarantees were offered.
“Despite the acceptance of evidence by the host countries and the Afghan delegation, no practical guarantees were offered,” Tarrar told reporters, explaining the reasons behind the failure of the previous round of talks.
He accused Afghan representatives of deviating from the central agenda and resorting to “delaying tactics, blame shifting and excuses.”
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned that Pakistan will not tolerate violations of its territorial integrity.
“If the Taliban government violates our borders, we will respond,” he said, adding that if necessary, Pakistan would carry out attacks inside Afghanistan in response to attacks launched from Afghan soil.
Read more: Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks stalled
Speaking to media in Parliament, Asif said mediators in the talks had reached the same conclusion about Kabul’s intentions. “The talks between Islamabad and Istanbul concluded yesterday afternoon; the mediators also realized what Kabul’s intentions were: the gap in Kabul’s intentions became evident to everyone. Now there is no cure, only prayer remains,” he said.
Pakistan had repeatedly protested attacks attributed to groups it described as backed by India (Fitna-ul-Khawarij and Fitna-ul-Hindustan) and had insisted on the implementation of the Doha agreement commitments. Pakistan has demanded clear and verifiable measures from the Afghan side to stop cross-border terrorism.
The decision to continue talks comes after an earlier round in Istanbul failed to produce concrete guarantees. Pakistani sources said the delegation, which had been preparing to return home, would now stay back to seek further engagements at the request of the hosts.
