The Foreign Office (FO) on Sunday stated that the Afghan Taliban only participated in talks with Pakistan this past week to prolong a temporary ceasefire between the two nations and did not take any action against terrorist elements operating from their soil.
Talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban followed weeks of shuttle diplomacy after deadly border clashes last month plunged relations between the two neighbours to their lowest point since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
On Friday, the talks broke down, with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif saying that the negotiations “entered an indefinite phase”, but a temporary ceasefire between Kabul and Islamabad still stands.
In a lengthy statement published today, the FO said: “Anyone following the talks held under the mediation of brotherly countries of Turkiye and Qatar, could easily discern that the Taliban regime was only interested in prolonging the temporary ceasefire, but without taking concrete and verifiable actions against the TTP/FaK (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan/Fitna-al-Khawarij) and BLA/FaH (Balochistan Liberation Army/Fitna-al-Hindustan) elements present on Afghan soil.
“Instead of finding solutions to address Pakistan’s core concern, [the] Afghan regime used the opportunity to malign Pakistan through hypothetical accusations and jingoistic rhetoric,” the statement added. “It prolonged discussions and engaged in futile arguments to stonewall the efforts at reaching any concrete understanding.”
More to follow
