Pakistan’s defence minister threatened on Wednesday to “obliterate” Afghanistan’s Taliban government after peace talks between the two neighbours collapsed, marking a sharp escalation in rhetoric following weeks of border clashes and failed diplomacy.
The remarks came hours after negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye ended in Istanbul without agreement, dashing hopes for a lasting truce following an earlier ceasefire brokered in Doha on 19 October, which briefly halted fighting that had left dozens dead on both sides.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the latest round of talks “failed to bring about any workable solution,” accusing the Afghan delegation of “deflection and ruses” and refusing to address the core agenda.
“The Afghan side kept deviating from the core issue on which the dialogue process was initiated,” Tarar said in a statement on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), accusing Kabul of engaging in “a blame game” instead of constructive dialogue.
He added that “the dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution.”
A senior Pakistani security official said Islamabad’s delegation had focused on a single demand — that Afghanistan prevent its territory from being used by militant groups, including the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), to launch attacks across the border.
“The Afghan side was unwilling to commit to any actionable steps against these groups,” the official said, describing the talks as “tense” and “ultimately futile.”
An Afghan source familiar with the discussions said negotiations broke down after heated exchanges over the TTP issue. The Afghan delegation reportedly told Pakistani officials it had “no control” over the Pakistani Taliban, which has carried out a series of recent attacks against Pakistani forces.
Afghan state media later quoted officials accusing Islamabad of a “lack of coordination and clarity,” claiming the Pakistani delegation “kept leaving the negotiating table” and failed to present “consistent arguments.”
Following the breakdown, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif issued a sharply worded warning, saying his country “does not require even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding.”
Kabul’s foreign and defence ministries did not immediately issue an official response. However, senior Taliban officials have previously warned that “any aggression” would be met with “strong resistance.”