ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday dismissed as “misleading” remarks by the Afghan Taliban’s chief spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, regarding the Istanbul talks between the two sides, saying his comments distorted the facts of the negotiations.
In a statement posted on X, Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the Taliban spokesperson had misrepresented Islamabad’s stance during the Istanbul talks.
“Pakistan had demanded that terrorists operating from Afghan soil and posing a threat to Pakistan either be controlled or arrested,” the ministry said.
“When the Afghan side claimed that those individuals were Pakistani nationals, Islamabad immediately proposed that they be handed over through designated border crossings, in line with existing mechanisms,” it added.
“Any claim to the contrary is false and misleading,” the statement said.
The ministry emphasised that Pakistan’s counterterrorism policy remained clear, consistent, and transparent, and that “any attempt to misrepresent Pakistan’s position is unacceptable.”
Taliban’s version of talks
Zabihullah Mujahid had earlier told an Afghan news channel that during the Istanbul negotiations, the Afghan side had offered to deport individuals considered security threats by Pakistan – a proposal he claimed Islamabad declined.
According to Mujahid, Pakistan instead asked the Taliban authorities to restrain those individuals within Afghanistan rather than deport them.
Mujahid further said Afghanistan’s policy forbade migrants from carrying weapons and asserted that Kabul would take action if Pakistan provided credible evidence of any threat.
The clarification came amid a fragile ceasefire between Islamabad and Kabul.
Officials confirmed that the Istanbul talks, which began on October 25 and concluded on October 30, were held under Turkish and Qatari mediation after earlier rounds in Doha.
Pakistan, Afghan Taliban agree to interim ceasefire
Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime on Thursday agreed to uphold the interim ceasefire after multiple rounds of talks in Istanbul collapsed without a breakthrough.
The talks had broken down when the Taliban refused to provide verifiable guarantees that groups such as the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban terrorist group would not use Afghan territory to launch attacks on Pakistan.
Pakistan had recommenced talks at the request of mediators Turkiye and Qatar to give peace another chance, while repeatedly urging Kabul to act against terrorists using Afghanistan’s territory as a safe haven.
Islamabad-Kabul tensions
Pakistan has been grappling with rising terror incidents, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, since the Afghan Taliban regime took power in 2021.
Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban regime to rein in terrorist groups responsible for countless attacks in Pakistan.
However, the Taliban regime largely remained indifferent to Pakistan’s demands and provided refuge to multiple terrorist groups targeting security forces and civilians.
Instead of addressing Pakistan’s concerns about cross-border terrorism, the Taliban regime resorted to unprovoked firing along the border on October 12.
The Pakistan Armed Forces retaliated swiftly, killing over 200 Taliban fighters and affiliated militants; however, as many as 23 Pakistani soldiers were martyred during the border clashes.
The security forces also conducted strikes inside Afghanistan, including in Kabul, destroying terrorists’ hideouts in the country.
Hostilities between forces of the two nations ceased after Pakistan accepted the Taliban regime’s request for a temporary ceasefire on October 17.
Delegations from the two countries later met for talks mediated by Qatar in Doha, where they agreed on a ceasefire agreement.
Turkiye then hosted the second round of talks in Istanbul, which began on October 25 and continued till October 31.
The two sides would meet again in the next round scheduled for November 6.
