Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban spokesperson said on Saturday that “circles within Pakistan’s intelligence and military” are obstructing progress in the peace talks between the group and Islamabad in Istanbul.
Speaking at an online press conference, Mujahid claimed that these groups are “creating pretexts to push relations toward tension” and are trying to blame Afghanistan’s Taliban for Pakistan’s internal problems, instability, and attacks carried out by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
He described the TTP issue as an “old problem” unrelated to the Taliban in Kabul. Mujahid said the TTP emerged in 2002 following US drone strikes and bombings in Pakistan’s tribal areas, which he alleged were conducted with Islamabad’s consent.
According to Mujahid, the Taliban delegation in Istanbul presented evidence of multiple Pakistani military operations against the TTP that “displaced hundreds of thousands of people from the tribal regions, some of whom later came to Afghanistan.”
Earlier, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the talks had reached a “complete deadlock” and that no further rounds were currently planned.
Asif added that the Taliban delegation had sought verbal assurances during the talks but refused to formalise any agreements. He emphasised that all international negotiations must be concluded through written agreements.
Before the press conference, Mujahid had already confirmed the failure of the Istanbul talks. In a post on X earlier on Saturday, he wrote that the negotiations “produced no results.” He reiterated that the Taliban “will not allow anyone to use Afghan territory against another country.”
Mujahid also accused Pakistan of attempting to place “all security responsibilities on the Taliban while showing no willingness to assume responsibility for Afghanistan’s security or even its own.”
The third round of Taliban–Pakistan talks began on Thursday, November 6, in Istanbul. The first round, held in Doha, resulted in an immediate ceasefire, while the second round, also held in Istanbul, ended without progress.
