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KABUL – Pakistan’s defence minister issued a stark warning on Wednesday, vowing to “obliterate” Afghanistan’s Taliban regime after high-stakes peace talks between the two nations broke down in Istanbul.
The threat marks a sharp escalation following the collapse of truce negotiations aimed at ending weeks of deadly border clashes. Pakistan’s Information Minister confirmed the talks had “failed to produce any workable solution,” accusing Kabul of evading responsibility for militant attacks launched from Afghan soil.
“Pakistan does not require even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding,” Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared in a post on X. Afghan officials have yet to respond.
The Istanbul dialogue, mediated by Turkey and Qatar, ended amid tense exchanges over the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), a militant group Islamabad says operates freely inside Afghanistan. Pakistani sources said the Taliban refused to rein in the group, while Afghan negotiators claimed they lacked control over it.
The failure comes after a fragile ceasefire, brokered in Doha on October 19, collapsed into renewed violence. Earlier this month, Pakistani airstrikes in Kabul and other locations targeted the TTP’s leadership, prompting Taliban attacks on Pakistani military posts along the 2,600-kilometre border.
The border remains closed as tensions soar, with fresh clashes over the weekend killing five Pakistani soldiers and 25 militants. Pakistani officials now warn that without a diplomatic breakthrough, the region could slide into open conflict.
