Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the Afghan Taliban regime was to blame for the breakdown of talks between Islamabad and Kabul as the two countries engaged in a lengthy round of dialogue to try and achieve a permanent ceasefire and cessation of terrorist attacks originating from Afghan soil.
Pakistan witnessed a rapid deterioration in ties with Afghanistan, with both sides engaging in recent border skirmishes, counter-statements and allegations. The hostilities began earlier this month when an attack was launched on Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night of October 11. The attack had followed an allegation from the Taliban of airstrikes by Pakistan into Afghanistan — an accusation which Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied.
For its part, Islamabad has long demanded that the Afghan Taliban stop terror groups from using its soil against Pakistan. Taliban, however, deny the allegation of allowing terrorists to operate from Afghan soil. Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to grapple with the issue of terrorism and has suffered multiple casualties among security forces in intelligence-based operations.After the initial skirmish on October 11, multiple others took place along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Meanwhile, strikes by Islamabad also targeted Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan. Eventually, the two sides came together for dialogue in Doha, which resulted in a temporary ceasefire, as well as a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.
Last week, the second round of talks, which were being mediated by Turkiye and Qatar, between the two sides began in the Turkish capital. But earlier today, Tarar announced that the latest round of talks between Islamabad and Kabul in Istanbul “failed to bring about any workable solution”.
Elaborating more on the matter in an interview on Geo News show ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, the information minister said: “The Afghan Taliban regime is completely responsible for the breakdown of the talks.
“When irrefutable evidence was given to them and their soil is being used against Pakistan’s sovereignty and for terrorist activities, and their people are involved with the TTP, then why are they resorting to evasion?”..
Source: dawn.com/news
