On Wednesday, Pakistan’s defense minister issued a threat to “obliterate” the Taliban, which governs neighboring Afghanistan, following the failure of negotiations aimed at establishing lasting peace between the two entities.
Peace talks, held in Istanbul, Turkey, concluded without a “workable solution,” Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar confirmed. This development follows deadly clashes earlier in the month, where dozens lost their lives along the in the most intense violence the area has seen since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.
The negotiations broke down over a dispute regarding alleged terror groups operating from Afghanistan to attack security forces along Pakistan’s border.
On X, Pakistan Defense Minister Khawaja Asif declared, “Pakistan does not require to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding.”
According to Reuters, the two countries had agreed to a , on October 19, but were unable to find common ground during a second round of discussions in Istanbul, mediated by Turkey and Qatar.
Both nations placed blame on one another for the collapse of the negotiations.
On Wednesday, Pakistan’s information minister asserted that “The Afghan side kept deviating from the core issue … on which the dialogue process was initiated,” going on to accuse the Taliban of employing deflection, ruses, and a “blame game.”
He stated, “The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution.”
A Pakistani security source informed Reuters that the Taliban had been unwilling to agree to rein in the Pakistani Taliban, a that Pakistan contends operates without repercussions from within Afghanistan.
An Afghan source privy to the talks told the outlet that negotiations ceased after “tense exchanges” on this issue, further noting that Afghanistan claimed it lacked control over the Pakistani Taliban.
In recent weeks, the Pakistani Taliban carried out attacks against the Pakistani military.
The clashes commenced earlier this month following Pakistani air strikes that targeted the leader of the Pakistani Taliban in Kabul and other areas.
The Taliban retaliated by launching attacks on Pakistani military posts along the entire 1,600-mile closed border.
Pakistan’s defense minister stated on Saturday that he believed Afghanistan sought peace, but warned that the failure to achieve an agreement in Istanbul would result in “open war.”
Despite a ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban, weekend clashes led to the deaths of five Pakistani soldiers and 25 Pakistani Taliban members near the Afghan border.
Reuters contributed to this report.