ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday said the Taliban regime in Afghanistan needs to move from a “terrorist mindset” to a mindset of a statesman to achieve lasting peace and stability in the region.
Information Minister Tarar warned that any attempt from Afghanistan to disrupt peace in Pakistan has been and will continue to be met with a response. “The terrorist mindset needs to be changed,” Tarar said while addressing a seminar titled “Afghan Predicament and the Trajectory to Peace” in Islamabad.
Pakistan believes in peaceful coexistence: @TararAttaullah @MoIB_Official #PakistanForPeace #RadioPakistan #news https://t.co/yJahno1oni pic.twitter.com/0ukcXSAFA9
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) September 29, 2026
He said Pakistan believed in peace and peaceful coexistence and had held several rounds of negotiations with the Afghan Taliban regime to ensure peaceful relations between the two countries.
The Information Minister, however, regretted the lack of willingness on the Afghan side to achieve peace. Tarar said that the main obstacles to peace included militancy and the presence of terrorist safe havens in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has repeatedly criticised the Taliban regime for allowing terrorist groups to operate from Afghan territory.
Tarar said Pakistan and Afghanistan were neighbouring countries with longstanding links and that Pakistan had hosted around four million Afghan refugees over more than four decades.
Tarar said the Taliban regime needs to move away from a terrorist mindset, asserting that the problems currently affecting relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan stem from this terrorist mindset.
The Information Minister said there are safe havens for terrorists and members of internationally proscribed organisations in Afghanistan. He said Pakistan has repeatedly conveyed its concerns over the use of Afghan soil for terrorist attacks against Pakistan. He said Pakistan has also responded through strikes on terrorist sanctuaries in retaliation for the terrorist attacks.
Highlighting the region’s potential for increased trade if peace is achieved in Afghanistan, Tarar said stability would contribute to greater prosperity for the peoples of the region.
Attaullah Tarar said the people of Afghanistan deserve a better and prosperous future. He emphasised that achieving this future requires a consensus within Afghanistan and ensuring that the Afghan people are given a voice to make their own choice.
The minister said the people of Afghanistan truly deserve an environment where they are able to enjoy their basic rights.
Tarar also highlighted Afghanistan’s young population and raised concerns over restrictions affecting women’s participation in the workforce and access to basic rights, including education, assembly and association.
“There is a disconnect between the Afghan interim government and the Afghan population,” he said, adding that ordinary Afghans wanted peace, stability and economic prosperity.
“Only peace can lead to prosperity,” Tarar said, adding that Afghanistan’s stability would benefit the wider region.
Tarar also warned that Pakistan’s desire for peace should not be interpreted as weakness, saying Islamabad had responded to attacks and would respond to any attempts to destabilise the country.
“Pakistan’s desire for peace must not be misconstrued as its weakness,” he said, adding that Pakistan would continue to defend itself against attacks while pursuing peace.
