Pakistan’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said efforts to resolve security disputes with the Taliban through dialogue have failed, arguing that Islamabad has been unable to obtain guarantees that Afghanistan’s territory will not be used by militant groups to carry out attacks inside Pakistan.
Speaking about contacts between the two sides, Asif said Pakistan had repeatedly asked the Taliban to prevent militants from operating from Afghanistan but that Taliban officials had declined to provide written assurances.
“They agreed to everything verbally, but insisted on not giving us anything in writing,” Asif said. He added that any future engagement with the Taliban should include concrete guarantees.
Pakistan and Taliban have held several rounds of talks in recent years, including meetings in Doha, Istanbul, Riyadh and Urumqi, in an effort to ease tensions and address Islamabad’s security concerns. Those efforts, Asif suggested, have produced little progress.
According to Asif, Pakistan sought assurances that militants relocated to remote parts of Afghanistan would not return to areas near the border.
“We have tried every avenue,” he said. “We have failed to obtain guarantees and commitments.”
Asif also said that more than 4,300 Pakistani military personnel and civilians had been killed since 2022, when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan. Pakistan has repeatedly blamed the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP, for a surge in attacks and has accused the Taliban of failing to curb the group’s activities. Taliban have rejected those allegations and maintain that Afghanistan’s territory is not used against other countries.
The remarks came as Hamish Falconer, Britain’s parliamentary under-secretary of state for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Pakistan, visited Pakistan for talks on regional security and bilateral relations.
According to Pakistani media reports, Falconer said Pakistan had the right to defend itself against attacks originating from Afghanistan. In a post on X following meetings with Pakistani officials, he said Afghan territory should not be used to launch attacks against other countries and called on the Taliban to uphold that commitment.
“We discussed the need for dialogue and de-escalation between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Falconer wrote. “Afghanistan’s territory should never be used for attacks against another country. The Taliban must honor this commitment.”
The comments come amid heightened tensions between Islamabad and Taliban.
Last week, Pakistan carried out airstrikes in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Paktika and Khost, claiming that 26 TTP members were killed. The Taliban disputed the account, saying the strikes killed 13 civilians and wounded 14 others.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, or UNAMA, said it had verified the deaths of 13 civilians and injuries to 14 others in the strikes.
