Pakistan commits to 'dialogue' despite Afghan talks ending

BSS
Published On: 09 Nov 2025, 20:11
Collected photo

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Nov 9, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Pakistan said Sunday it was committed to "dialogue" with Afghanistan despite peace talks ending after deadly violence, with Islamabad stressing its security concerns persist.

The two sides met in Istanbul in an effort to cement a truce agreed on October 19 in Qatar, after dozens of people were killed in cross-border fire between the South Asian nations.

In its first acknowledgement that the negotiations were over, Islamabad said the third round of talks "concluded" on Friday.

"Pakistan remains committed to (the) resolution of bilateral differences through dialogue. However, Pakistan's core concern, i.e. terrorism emanating from Afghanistan needs to be addressed first and foremost," the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of harbouring militant groups, particularly the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) that regularly claims deadly attacks in Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban deny sheltering the group.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said the Taliban government avoided "taking any measures on (the) ground and tried to back out of the commitments they had undertaken at the first round".

The statement came a day after the Afghan government said its ceasefire with Pakistan would remain even though their latest talks failed, blaming Islamabad's "irresponsible and uncooperative" approach.

"During the discussions, the Pakistani side attempted to shift all responsibility for its security to the Afghan government, while showing no willingness to take responsibility for either Afghanistan's security or its own," Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on social media.

Islamabad also accuses Afghanistan of acting with the support of India, its historical enemy, during a period of closer ties between New Delhi and Kabul.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, wants its territorial sovereignty to be respected and accuses Islamabad of supporting armed groups against it.

Each side has threatened a resumption of hostilities that saw more than 70 people killed and hundreds wounded last month.

The talks were threatened on Friday after each side blamed the other for border fighting in Spin Boldak on the Afghan side, where five people were killed according to a district hospital official.

 

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