Pakistan said on Wednesday that peace talks with Afghanistan had “failed”, dashing hopes for a lasting ceasefire after the region’s deadliest border clashes in years.
The violence, which left more than 70 dead and hundreds injured, followed explosions in Kabul on October 9, which Taliban authorities blamed on Pakistan.
“Unfortunately, the Afghan side did not provide any guarantees, kept diverting from the main issue and resorted to blame games, diversions and tricks,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X after four days of talks brokered by Qatar and Turkey, according to AFP.
“Thus, the dialogue did not bring any workable solution.”
Pakistan’s Khawaja Asif warns Afghanistan
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif warned on Wednesday that his country will “wipe out” the Afghan Taliban and drive them back to their caves if any future terrorist attacks occur on Pakistani soil.
Asif made the statement on social media shortly after four days of talks in Istanbul ended without progress on Pakistan’s key demand that the Taliban crack down on militants operating from Afghan territory.
Asif said that at the request of brotherly countries, Pakistan had engaged in talks to give peace a chance, but “venomous statements by some Afghan officials clearly reflect the devious and fragmented mindset of the Taliban regime”.
“Let me assure them that Pakistan does not need to use even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely wipe out the Taliban regime and push them back into their caves for cover. If they so desire, a repeat of the scenes of their defeat in Tora Bora with their tail between their legs would certainly be a spectacle for the people of the region to watch,” he said on X.
Earlier this month, the Pakistani military launched attacks on alleged Pakistani Taliban hideouts in Afghanistan, killing dozens of people it described as insurgents. Afghanistan said the dead were civilians and responded by attacking Pakistani military posts, killing 58 Pakistani soldiers.
The Pakistan Army said it had lost 23 soldiers in the border fighting.
The two sides agreed to a ceasefire brokered by countries including Qatar on October 19 in Doha, followed by four days of talks in Istanbul that ended in a stalemate.
In a post on X, Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif told the Afghan Taliban government that “any terrorist attack or suicide bombing inside Pakistan will give you a bitter taste of such calamities.”
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Kabul did not immediately respond to the collapse of peace talks or to Asif’s warning.
However, Afghan state television RTA said the talks had stalled due to what it described as “irrational demands” by Pakistan.
The RTA said Islamabad sought assurances that no attacks would be launched from Afghan territory, while the Taliban delegation maintained that the Pakistani Taliban or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan was an internal matter of Pakistan.
Pakistan has long accused the Afghan Taliban government of ignoring the presence of the Pakistani Taliban and other militants on its territory, which Kabul denies.
conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan
Pakistan has seen an increase in militant attacks, most claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, which is a separate group from the Afghan Taliban, but has been emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021. Since then, many leaders and fighters of the Pakistani Taliban have been living in Afghanistan.
In a strongly worded tweet, Asif also accused Kabul of “blindly pushing Afghanistan into another conflict” to preserve what he described as a “usurped government and war economy”.
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“Let me assure them that Pakistan does not need to use even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely wipe out the Taliban regime and push them back into their caves to hide,” he said.
Despite the failure of the talks, the ceasefire remained in effect and no new clashes were reported along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Both countries closed all major crossings, leaving hundreds of trucks carrying goods and refugees on both sides.
At the Chaman border crossing in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province, hundreds of Afghan refugee families and traders expressed frustration and concern over failed talks.
Afghan refugees with their belongings on trucks wait to be deported to Afghanistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman on October 29, 2025. Pakistan said on October 29 that peace talks with Afghanistan had failed, dealing a blow to hopes for a lasting ceasefire after the South Asian neighbors’ deadliest border clashes in years. (Photo by Abdul BASIT/AFP)
“We learned that the talks have failed,” said Ajab Khan, an Afghan refugee waiting in a long line of trucks loaded with household goods. “Now we’re going back to Afghanistan, but it’s a scary situation. We don’t know how we’re going to survive there.”
(With input from agencies)
Key things
- The failed peace talks have increased tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan and raised fears of renewed violence.
- Khawaja Asif’s strong rhetoric reflects Pakistan’s frustration with the Taliban’s inaction against militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
- The humanitarian situation at the border is dire, hundreds of refugees are stuck in the middle of the ongoing conflict.
