Islamabad, Nov. 10 — Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday accused the Afghan Taliban of using recent talks with Islamabad merely to prolong a temporary ceasefire rather than taking action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.
In a detailed statement, the FO said the Taliban regime had “shown no intent” to act against the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), despite multiple rounds of negotiations mediated by Turkiye and Qatar. The statement came two days after talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul ended without agreement.
“Anyone following the talks could easily discern that the Taliban regime was only interested in prolonging the temporary ceasefire,” the FO said, alleging that the Afghan side avoided addressing Pakistan’s core concerns. It added that Kabul attempted to portray the presence of TTP militants in Afghanistan as a “humanitarian issue” rather than a security threat.
According to the FO, militants linked to the TTP had fled to Afghanistan following Pakistan’s 2015 Operation Zarb-i-Azb, later fighting alongside the Afghan Taliban against former Afghan and NATO forces. The statement said these groups were now being “harboured” by the Taliban government “as payback for their allegiance.”
Islamabad asserted that despite showing restraint and pursuing dialogue, terrorist attacks originating from Afghanistan had sharply increased since the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. The FO reiterated Pakistan’s demand that the Taliban hand over militants involved in attacks against Pakistan, saying Kabul’s inaction was “a matter of intent, not capability.”
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The statement also rejected Afghan allegations of Pakistani divisions over Afghan policy, saying there was “absolute clarity” that the Pakistani people were the main victims of cross-border terrorism. It further warned that anyone supporting or sheltering militants would “not be considered a friend of Pakistan.”
The FO added that Pakistan would “leave no stone unturned” to protect its sovereignty and citizens, stressing that future dialogue would depend on Kabul’s verifiable action against terrorist networks using Afghan territory.
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