Saudi Arabia on Sunday welcomed the announcement of an immediate ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Source: x.com/arabnews
Pakistan has 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 the negotiation process another chance, but Pakistan’s basic demand – that Afghan territory not be used to commit terrorism against Pakistan – will remain at the heart of any resumption of talks.
Radio Pakistan also published comments on the renegotiations on
The talks will focus on Pakistan’s central demand that Afghanistan take clear, verifiable and effective measures against terrorists. Pakistan has repeatedly pressured the Taliban to prevent cross-border attacks and honor written commitments made under the Doha agreement.
Read: Explained: Pakistan-Afghanistan border conflict
Information Minister Attaullah Tarrar, who previously called the Istanbul talks a failure, said the Afghan delegation had avoided providing actionable assurances despite the “logical and legitimate demands” presented.
He said Pakistan had presented strong and “indisputable” evidence of cross-border terrorist activities, which was acknowledged by the hosts and the Afghan side, but practical guarantees had not been offered.
“Despite the acceptance of the evidence by the host countries and the Afghan delegation, no practical assurances have been provided,” Tarrar told reporters, explaining the reasons for the failure of the previous round of talks.
He accused Afghan officials of deviating from the main agenda and resorting to “delaying tactics, blame-shifting and making excuses.”
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif has 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 strikes inside Afghanistan in response to attacks launched from Afghan soil.
Learn more: Peace negotiations between Pakistan and Afghanistan at an impasse
Speaking to the media in Parliament, Asif said mediators during the talks had reached the same conclusion regarding Kabul’s intentions. “The Islamabad-Istanbul talks ended last night; the mediators also understood what Kabul’s intentions were: the discrepancy between Kabul’s intentions became obvious to everyone. Now there is no cure, only prayer remains,” he said.
Pakistan has repeatedly protested attacks attributed to groups it describes as India-backed – Fitna-ul-Khawarij and Fitna-ul-Hindustan – and insisted on implementing Doha deal commitments. Pakistan demanded that the Afghan side take clear and verifiable steps to end cross-border terrorism.
The decision to continue negotiations comes after a previous round in Istanbul failed to produce concrete assurances. Pakistani sources said the delegation – which was preparing to return home – would now stay to continue its engagements at the request of the hosts.
