Pakistan’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Attaullah Tarar, announced on Tuesday that four days of negotiations with the “Afghan Taliban regime” in Istanbul had ended without agreement.
In a statement on X, Tarar thanked Qatar and Turkiye for mediating the talks but accused the Taliban delegation of avoiding discussions on key issues.
He said Pakistan would take “all necessary measures” to protect its citizens, adding that since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Islamabad had repeatedly engaged with Kabul over cross-border terrorism particularly attacks by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants and Baloch separatists.
Tarar said Pakistan had urged the Taliban administration to uphold commitments made under the Doha Agreement, both to Pakistan and the international community, but that efforts to secure cooperation had failed. He accused the Taliban of continuing to provide support and shelter to anti-Pakistan militant groups.
“We will continue to take all possible measures necessary to protect our people from the menace of terrorism,” he said, adding that the government would use “all available resources to eliminate terrorists, their hideouts, facilitators, and supporters.”
The minister also warned that Pakistan’s patience had worn thin, accusing the Taliban of “dragging the Afghan people into a destructive conflict.”
He said Pakistan had presented “conclusive and verifiable evidence” of militant activity emanating from Afghan soil, but the Taliban delegation “avoided responsibility” and refused to provide assurances of action, leading to the failure of the talks.
Tarar reiterated his gratitude to Qatar and Turkiye for hosting and mediating the negotiations, saying the Taliban representatives had “verbally agreed” several times to Pakistan’s “logical and legitimate demand” for credible and decisive action against terrorist groups.
Taliban officials have not yet commented on the collapse of the talks.
The Istanbul negotiations followed a meeting between the defence ministers of Pakistan and the Taliban in Doha earlier this month, during which both sides agreed to a ceasefire and to reduce border hostilities. Technical discussions and monitoring mechanisms were deferred to the Istanbul round.
Pakistan has demanded that the Taliban prevent cross-border attacks by TTP militants and provide a written guarantee to curb further assaults on Pakistani territory.
