Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has dismissed Pakistan’s proposals in recent negotiations as unrealistic, saying Islamabad asked the Taliban to relocate Pakistani Taliban (TTP) fighters to Afghanistan.
He added that the Pakistani side also asked that Taliban guarantee security inside Pakistan. He said Afghanistan would not “import” Pakistan’s militant problem, describing TTP-related violence as an issue rooted in Pakistan’s own history.
Speaking on Sunday, 8 November, at a meeting with diplomats at the Taliban’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, Muttaqi said Pakistan had repeatedly violated Afghan territory over the past four years and that the Taliban had been compelled to respond after an attack on Kabul.
He said the Taliban delegation took part in the three rounds of talks “in good faith and with full authority” from their leadership, but that the negotiations collapsed because the Pakistani side made “impractical and unreasonable” demands.
According to Muttaqi, Pakistan had asked the Taliban to guarantee that no security incidents would occur on Pakistani soil. He said no country could ensure the security of another, calling the expectation “illogical.”
Muttaqi said the Taliban had repeatedly urged Pakistan to stop the movement of Islamic State militants and drone flights from Pakistani territory into Afghanistan, but that Islamabad had refused to take responsibility. He also said Pakistan asked the Taliban to transfer TTP members to Afghanistan, a request he said directly contradicted Islamabad’s accusations that TTP attacks originate from Afghan soil.
He added that Pakistan had demanded that the Taliban prevent TTP fighters from crossing the Durand Line, even though the border is fenced and lined with security posts. He questioned why Pakistan, with a large army, was unable to prevent such crossings. If armed groups passed through barbed wire, cameras, and checkpoints, he said, that responsibility could not be placed on Afghanistan.
Despite the tensions, Muttaqi said the Taliban negotiating team never withdrew from dialogue, while the Pakistani delegation walked away. He said the Taliban had consistently stated that Afghan territory would not be used against any country and that they respected the people and leaders of Pakistan.
Muttaqi said Pakistan’s conflict with the TTP was not new, claiming the group had been active in the country for half a century. He noted that Pakistan itself had said it lost nearly 80,000 security personnel in fighting the TTP over the past 25 years and argued that Islamabad should not shift its domestic problems onto Afghanistan.
He also cited Pakistan’s wider challenges, including tensions with India and Iran and internal political disputes such as the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan and the banning of the Tehreek-e-Labbaik party. He questioned whether these issues, too, would be blamed on Afghanistan.
Muttaqi criticised Pakistan for exerting pressure on Afghan refugees and civilians, closing border crossings to patients and traders, and linking trade restrictions, even on vegetables, to political disputes. He said politics and commerce should not be conflated.
He reiterated that the Taliban favours resolving disputes through diplomacy and said the group had repeatedly offered to facilitate talks between Pakistan and the TTP, but Islamabad had rejected the proposal.
