Pakistan announced on Wednesday that peace talks with Afghanistan had failed, in a blow to hopes for a lasting truce after the South Asian neighbours’ deadliest border clashes in years.
The violence, which killed more than 70 people and wounded hundreds, erupted following explosions in Kabul on October 9 that the Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan.
Both sides had been holding talks in Istanbul aimed at securing peace.
‘Regrettably, the Afghan side gave no assurances, kept deviating from the core issue and resorted to blame game, deflection and ruses,’ Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X after four days of negotiations brokered by Qatar and Turkey.
‘The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution.’
Tarar said Pakistan engaged with Afghanistan in the spirit of peace, but accused Kabul of ‘unabated support to anti-Pakistan terrorists’.
‘We will continue to take all possible measures necessary to protect our people from the menace of terrorism,’ he added.
Hours later, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif warned on X that ‘any terrorist attack or any suicide bombing inside Pakistan shall give you the bitter taste of such misadventures’.
Afghanistan has not commented so far.
It is not clear whether negotiators from both sides remain in Istanbul, and the Turkish foreign ministry did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment.
Abdul Mateen Qani, spokesman for Afghanistan’s interior ministry, told Afghan media outlet Ariana News on Tuesday that any attack would be met with a response ‘that will serve as a lesson for Pakistan and a message for others’.
Relations between the one-time allies, who share a 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) frontier, have soured in recent years over accusations from Islamabad that Afghanistan harbours militant groups which stage attacks in Pakistan.
Of particular concern is the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses the Taliban authorities of allowing to use Afghan territory as a ‘training-cum-logistic base and jump off point for terrorist activities’.
The Taliban government has consistently denied the allegations.
A Pakistani security source, who was not authorised to speak publicly, said Tuesday the Afghan delegation initially agreed to take ‘credible and decisive action’ against the TTP, but ‘reversed its position repeatedly after instructions from Kabul’.
After the October 9 explosions in the Afghan capital, which coincided with a visit to New Delhi by Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Muttaqi, the Taliban launched a retaliatory border offensive. Pakistan responded with strikes.
An initial 48-hour ceasefire lapsed before a second truce emerged on October 19 following talks in Doha, also brokered by Qatar and Turkey.
The border between the two neighbours has been closed for more than two weeks, and news of the state of the talks was met with despair.
Abdul Jabbar, a vehicle spare parts trader in the Pakistani border town of Chaman, told AFP the closure was ‘very concerning’ for businesses.
‘Trade suffers greatly. Both countries face losses -- both are Islamic nations,’ the 40-year-old said.
A resident, Ehsanullah, told AFP he was disappointed the talks had failed.
‘May God make the talks successful so that peace, brotherhood, and trade can be restored,’ the 26-year-old said.
In Spin Boldak on the Afghan side, a driver had told AFP that ‘fruit is rotting’ in trucks.
‘There are 50 to 60 trucks, some with apples, others with pomegranates and grapes,’ said 25-year-old Gul, who only gave his first name.
The violence killed at least 50 Afghan civilians and wounded 447 others in one week, the United Nations mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) told AFP on Monday.
Pakistan’s military said on October 12 that 23 personnel had been killed and 29 wounded, without detailing civilian casualties.
