Afghanistan, Pakistan Hold Talks in Turkey After Islamabad’s Warning to ‘Crush Taliban’

Afghanistan and Pakistan have reopened peace talks in Istanbul, just a day.

After the previous round collapsed amid escalating tensions and threats from Islamabad to “obliterate” the Taliban regime, Reuters reported, citing multiple sources.

According to officials familiar with the matter, the renewed discussions were initiated at the request of mediators Turkey and Qatar to prevent further border clashes that have claimed several lives this month.

A Pakistani security official confirmed that Islamabad would reiterate its key demand — that Afghanistan take concrete action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants allegedly operating from Afghan soil.

“Most of the issues between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been resolved successfully and peacefully. However, a few of Pakistan’s demands require more time and deliberation,” a source close to the Afghan Taliban delegation told Reuters.

Islamabad has long accused the Taliban of sheltering the TTP, a separate militant faction responsible for attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the charge, asserting that it does not support cross-border militancy and has limited control over independent militant groups.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani urged Pakistan to address its own internal security challenges instead of blaming Kabul. In a video message, he warned that any attempt to provoke conflict “would cost them dearly,” while stressing that Afghanistan preferred dialogue over confrontation.

The renewed talks come after Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif threatened on Wednesday to “obliterate” the Taliban regime, asserting that Pakistan did not need to use even a fraction of its military capability to push the group back. His comments followed the earlier breakdown of talks in Istanbul.

On the same day, Pakistan claimed to have killed Qari Amjad, a senior deputy commander of the TTP and a US-designated terrorist, in a cross-border strike—marking a significant moment in Islamabad’s campaign against the militant group.