Pakistan reaffirms core concern over terrorism from Afghan soil after Istanbul talks

Pakistan said Sunday that recent talks with Afghanistan failed to deliver progress because the Taliban government has not taken concrete steps to stop militants it says are launching attacks from Afghan soil.

In a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Pakistan said the third round of talks — mediated by Turkey and Qatar and held in Istanbul on Nov. 7 — ended without agreement. The discussions were aimed at easing tensions between the neighboring countries that share a porous 1,600-mile border.

Pakistan said its “principal concern” remains the rise in terrorism originating from Afghanistan since the Taliban took control in August 2021.

Rising threat

Authorities in Islamabad blame the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, and the Balochistan Liberation Army, or BLA, for deadly attacks inside Pakistan. The government says both groups operate from safe havens in Afghanistan — a claim the Taliban deny.

Pakistan said it expected the Taliban leadership to restrain militants over time. Instead, the statement said, Afghan officials have “responded only with hollow promises and inaction.”

The Foreign Office said the Afghan side has tried to shift attention away from the terrorism issue by raising topics Pakistan called “irrelevant and hypothetical.”

Mediated discussions

The first round of talks in Doha produced an understanding to cooperate, leading to a short-lived cease-fire, according to Pakistan.

A second round in Istanbul was meant to finalize how that cooperation would work. But Pakistan said Afghan representatives “backed out of their earlier commitments” and turned to accusatory language instead.

During the latest meeting in Istanbul, Pakistan pushed again for a monitoring system to track militant activity on Afghan soil. The statement said Kabul instead focused on extending the cease-fire, without measures to verify progress.

Harboring militants

Pakistan also accused the Taliban of providing refuge to TTP militants who fled after a major Pakistani military offensive, Operation Zarb-e-Azb, in 2015.

“These terrorists … have established training camps to launch attacks inside Pakistan,” the statement said.

Islamabad urged Afghan authorities to hand the individuals over through formal border crossings such as Torkham and Chaman, rejecting Taliban claims that the militants are refugees.

“This is not a humanitarian issue,” Pakistan said, calling the Afghan position “a ploy to frame terrorists as refugees.”

No talks with armed groups

Pakistan insisted it will not negotiate with the TTP or BLA and will only engage politically with what it called a “legitimate government” in Kabul.

The statement accused some Taliban factions of using anti-Pakistan sentiment to strengthen their rule and distract from Afghanistan’s internal problems. It did not name the alleged foreign supporters behind those elements.

“There is complete clarity within Pakistan that the people of Pakistan are the biggest victims of terrorism by elements hiding in Afghanistan,” the Foreign Office said, adding that the nation is united with its security forces.

Diplomacy to continue

Despite the friction, Islamabad said it remains committed to peace and dialogue with Afghanistan. But it stressed that terrorism must be addressed first to reduce violence on both sides of the border.

“The Armed Forces of Pakistan … have rendered countless sacrifices in the war against terror and will continue to do so with full support of the people,” the statement concluded.