Pakistan has welcomed an offer from the United States to help facilitate talks with Afghanistan, but attached a firm condition: Kabul must take verifiable action against militant groups before meaningful negotiations can begin.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said on Sunday, November 1, that it would welcome US efforts to facilitate dialogue with Afghanistan, after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting in Atlanta on October 31 that Washington had heard Pakistan’s concerns about cross-border attacks and would play a “productive role” if one existed. “Pakistan would welcome sincere efforts by friendly countries, including the United States, to facilitate dialogue with Afghanistan,” Foreign Office spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan told Independent Urdu, Pakistan Today reported.
The condition is explicit. Any meaningful dialogue must rest on a “clear commitment” by the Afghan Taliban authorities to take concrete, sustained and verifiable action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Balochistan Liberation Army and other groups, Khan said.
A relationship at breaking point
The exchange follows a sharp deterioration in relations. On October 31, the Afghan Taliban said its final efforts at dialogue had failed, with chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid telling Hurriyat Radio that Pakistan “does not want to resolve the conflict with Afghanistan through talks” and “lacks the necessary readiness for a peaceful resolution of differences.”
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting answered the same day in a strongly worded statement, accusing the Taliban leadership of refusing to address militancy emanating from Afghan soil and shifting blame onto Islamabad. “Pakistan’s position is unequivocal: terrorism is a red line and the security of its citizens is non-negotiable,” the ministry said, warning that Pakistan reserved the right to take all necessary measures, in accordance with international law, to eliminate threats to its national security.
Border clashes continue
The diplomatic row has played out against fresh violence along the frontier. Pakistani and Afghan forces exchanged fire at multiple points along the border, including near Torkham, which was temporarily closed for hours over a disputed check post, and in Lower South Waziristan and Angoor Adda, according to reports on November 2. Pakistan said it responded to what it called unprovoked firing by targeting Afghan posts and mortar positions, with no Pakistani casualties reported. Earlier mediation rounds by Qatar and Türkiye, and efforts by China, have failed to narrow the gap, and no date, venue or format for any US-facilitated talks has been agreed.
