Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Monday that the government will under no circumstances hold talks with Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and will instead engage solely with the Taliban in Afghanistan.
His remarks came after both the Afghan Taliban and Imran Khan, the imprisoned leader of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf party, urged Islamabad to resolve its dispute with the TTP through dialogue.
Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban reached a Qatar-mediated ceasefire agreement on Sunday to halt hostilities following a week of border clashes.
Asif said the Taliban delegation in Doha had pledged to restrain Pakistani militants, adding that the continuation of the ceasefire depended on the Taliban’s commitment to that promise. He described the talks as having taken place in a "friendly atmosphere.”
The defence minister also clarified that the draft ceasefire agreement contains only four clauses, dismissing the longer version circulating on social media as fabricated.
He added that further discussions on the ceasefire’s implementation will be held in Türkiye in the coming days, while noting that he remains cautiously optimistic about the Taliban administration’s adherence to the truce.
