ISLAMABAD; Hours after peace talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan ended without progress in Istanbul, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday issued a stern warning to the Afghan Taliban regime, saying Pakistan would not tolerate any “treachery and mockery” and would make them “taste the bitterness” of their actions.
In a post on X, Asif stated that Pakistan had agreed to participate in the talks at the request of friendly nations to give peace another chance. However, he said, “venomous statements” from Afghan officials exposed the “devious and fractured mindset” of the Taliban leadership.
“We have borne your treachery and mockery for too long, but no more,” the minister warned. “Any terrorist attack or suicide bombing inside Pakistan will make you taste the consequences of such misadventures. Test our resolve at your own peril.”
Asif further asserted that Pakistan did not need to use even a fraction of its military capability to “completely obliterate the Taliban regime and drive them back to the caves.” Referring to the U.S. air campaign against the Taliban in 2001, he said, “If they wish so, the repeat of their rout at Tora Bora will once again be a spectacle for the world to witness.”
His statement came shortly after Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar confirmed that the four-day Istanbul talks had ended without any breakthrough. “Despite Pakistan presenting evidence-backed counterterrorism demands, the dialogue failed to produce a workable solution,” Tarar wrote on X, thanking Qatar, Turkiye, and other friendly countries for their mediation efforts.
Khawaja Asif also accused the Taliban regime of driving Afghanistan toward another destructive conflict just to preserve its power and war-based economy. “They know their limitations but are still beating the war drums to sustain their crumbling facade,” he said. “If they are determined to ruin Afghanistan once again, so be it.”
Warning of consequences, Asif said the Taliban, “who thrive on instability in the region,” had badly misjudged Pakistan’s resolve and courage. “If they wish to fight us, the world will soon see their threats are nothing but a circus,” he added.
The latest escalation follows a series of violent incidents along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. On October 12, Taliban forces and India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as Fitna al-Khawarij, launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistani positions.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistan’s military retaliated in self-defence, killing over 200 Afghan Taliban and TTP fighters, while 23 Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom. Precision strikes were later carried out on terrorist strongholds in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Kabul regions, as well as in the border areas of North and South Waziristan.
A temporary ceasefire was reached during the Doha talks on October 19, with both sides agreeing to hold further meetings to work toward lasting peace and regional stability.
