Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said on Friday that the Afghan Taliban government in Kabul had acknowledged the presence of Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist organizations on its territory.
The talks were scheduled as Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to continue a ceasefire between the two countries and after a rapid deterioration in ties and a brief conflict along their shared border earlier this month.
The agreement capped five days of a second round of tense negotiations (the first was held in Doha on October 18-19) in Istanbul mediated by Turkiye and Qatar. The round, which had begun on Saturday, had reached a near-collapse point on Wednesday, when Islamabad said its long-standing concern about terrorist attacks coming from Afghanistan remained a major point of contention.
But there was a breakthrough in the deadlock after Turkiye and Qatar saved the dialogue process for the second time in less than a week.
Answering questions after holding a weekly press conference, the spokesperson said: “The Afghan Taliban government has acknowledged the presence of the TTP and other terrorist organizations.
“The Afghan authorities have given several justifications for not taking action against these organizations,” he added. “The presence of terrorist elements on Afghan soil reinforces Pakistan’s security concerns.”
Responding to a question, Andrabi said Pakistan has been in constant contact with the Afghan Taliban for the past four years, noting that Islamabad took a “cautiously optimistic” approach in negotiations with Kabul.
“[We are] “It is not extremely optimistic, but maintaining optimism in diplomacy is a professional requirement,” he explained. “Optimism is an integral part of our diplomatic process.”
When asked about the opening of the Torkham border crossing – a major border crossing between the Pakistani city of Torkham and Afghanistan – the spokesperson said he had “no information on the matter” and referred the question to the Home Office.
“Contacts are maintained with Pakistani residents, traders and businessmen in Afghanistan,” he said. “Traders have the option of returning via direct flights. [and] “Work is underway to determine the number of people who wish to return.”
Andrabi noted that the border will remain closed until further notice.
During the briefing, he said Pakistan hoped for a “positive outcome” from the next round of talks with the Afghan Taliban set to begin on November 6.
“Pakistan will continue to participate in the mediation process and hopes for a positive outcome for the November 6 talks,” he said during a weekly FO briefing.
Andrabi recalled during the briefing that the second round of talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime concluded in Istanbul yesterday afternoon, in the presence of mediators.
“Pakistan participated in the Istanbul talks, which began on October 25, in good spirit and with positive intention,” he added.
The FO spokesperson said the talks were initially scheduled for two days.
“However, in an effort to reach an amicable agreement with the Taliban regime, the Pakistani side seriously continued talks for four days.
“Pakistan positively engaged with the Taliban regime without compromising its clearly expressed position that Afghan soil should not be used for terrorism against Pakistan.”
He stated that Pakistan was not seeking a further escalation of hostilities but “hopes that the Afghan Taliban regime will fulfill its commitment to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by taking concrete and verifiable actions against terrorist entities, including Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan”.
Fitna-al-Khawarij is a state-designated term for the banned terrorist group Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, and Fitna-al-Hindustan is a term the state uses to refer to Balochistan-based groups to highlight India’s alleged role in terrorism and destabilization across Pakistan.
Andrabi said Pakistan had been urging the Afghan Taliban for the past four years to take “decisive and effective measures” against terrorist groups present on Afghan soil.
“We repeatedly shared credible information about the presence of senior leaders of Fitna-al-Khawarij and Fitna-al-Hindustan on Afghan soil with the Taliban regime. However, despite repeated assurances in the past, there has been an increase in terrorist attacks in Pakistan from Afghanistan.”
He said the “constant and total disregard” of Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by the Afghan Taliban over the past four years and the “unprovoked aggression against Pakistan supported by Fitna-al-Khawarij “On October 11 and 12 and later on October 14 and 15, they provoked violent exchanges across the international border.”
“Pakistan responded decisively to the Afghan provocation aimed at destabilizing the border area, facilitating terrorism and promoting Fitna-al-Khawarij“Their nefarious designs.”
Pakistan will respond resolutely if provocations continue in future, he further warned.
The FO spokesperson emphasized that Pakistan had always wanted a peaceful, stable, regionally integrated and prosperous Afghanistan, “that is at peace with itself and its neighbours”.
“With the takeover of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021, we hoped that the vision of regional peace and connectivity would be realized.
“In the same spirit, despite our various security concerns, Pakistan took many initiatives this year to support and assist Afghanistan and granted a number of concessions to Afghanistan, especially for Afghan transit trade.”
He further highlighted that Islamabad had elevated its diplomatic representation with Afghanistan from the level of chargé d’affaires to the level of ambassador and also agreed to expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project to Afghanistan.
Andrabi recalled that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Kabul three times, including on July 17, to sign an agreement on the joint feasibility study of the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan railway project.
He further stated that “the government and armed forces are ready to take all possible measures to protect the sovereignty of Pakistan and ensure the safety of its people.”
Next, the FO spokesperson valued the “constructive role of the brother countries Qatar and Turkiye.”
“They have been making their best efforts to bring about an amicable and peaceful resolution of the issue,” he said.
“The ceasefire cannot be effective until terrorism stops”
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, who had been directing strong criticism particularly towards Afghanistan since the start of border hostilities earlier this month, also confirmed while speaking to Geographic news that a provisional agreement had been reached between the two countries with the mediation of Turkiye and Qatar.
“Another round of negotiations will take place on November 6,” he said.
Asif stated that Pakistan’s main demand remains “the cessation of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil.”
He added that “there is a ray of hope, but not because of Afghanistan and only because of the influence of Qatar and Turkiye” over Kabul.
The defense minister further said: “There have been some violations of the ceasefire by Afghanistan” and also emphasized that “until terrorism stops, the ceasefire cannot be effective.”
Border skirmishes and talks
Pakistan and Afghanistan have seen worsening ties in recent weeks, including border skirmishes, counter-statements and accusations.
Hostilities began earlier this month when an attack was launched against Pakistan from Afghanistan on the night of October 11. The attack followed an allegation by the Afghan Taliban of Pakistani airstrikes against Afghanistan, an allegation that Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied.
For its part, Islamabad has long demanded that the Taliban prevent terrorist groups from using its soil against Pakistan. The Taliban, however, deny the accusation 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, many others occurred along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Meanwhile, the Islamabad attacks also targeted the camps of the Gul Bahadur group in Afghanistan.
Ultimately, the two sides met for talks in Doha, resulting in a temporary ceasefire, as well as a commitment to meet again in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.
The second round of talks between both parties, mediated by Türkiye and Qatar, began last week in the Turkish capital.
But on Wednesday, Tarar announced in a post on X that the latest round of talks between Islamabad and Kabul in Istanbul “failed to achieve any viable solution.” He also stated that Pakistan would continue to take all possible measures to protect its citizens from terrorism.
However, after the efforts of Turkiye and Qatar, the two sides continued the ceasefire, established a joint monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure peace along their shared border and penalize any violators.
