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KABUL – Pakistan on Wednesday accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of backtracking on its promises to rein in cross-border militants, after four days of high-level talks in Turkiye ended in failure.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the negotiations, hosted by Ankara and backed by Qatar, collapsed because the Taliban delegation “deviated from the core issue” and refused to honour prior commitments to curb anti-Pakistan groups operating from Afghan soil. “Our efforts proved futile due to Kabul’s unabated support to terrorists,” Tarar said, calling the outcome a “betrayal of written assurances.”
He added that Pakistan had repeatedly engaged with the Taliban since their return to power in Kabul but that “every assurance, every promise” had been withdrawn or ignored once talks reached a decisive stage. Tarar said Islamabad presented “clear and irrefutable evidence” of militant safe havens in Afghanistan, which was acknowledged by mediators but dismissed by the Afghan side.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Afghan negotiators had “almost agreed” to key security measures before receiving last-minute instructions from Kabul to pull back, repeating the cycle “four or five times.” He accused Afghanistan of “acting under outside influence,” suggesting interference from India.
The talks in Istanbul were part of renewed regional efforts to contain a surge in militant violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Pakistan says the Taliban have failed to live up to their obligations under the Doha Agreement and warns that its patience is wearing thin after years of mounting casualties.
Security officials said Islamabad will now take “all necessary measures” to protect its citizens and dismantle terrorist sanctuaries. The breakdown, they added, marks a turning point in Pakistan’s approach toward the Taliban, as confidence in Kabul’s pledges “has completely eroded.”
