Pakistan threatens to ‘obliterate’ Taliban after failed peace negotiations
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Pakistan’s defense minister on Wednesday threatened to “destroy” the Taliban, who control neighboring Afghanistan, after negotiations for a permanent peace between the two sides collapsed.
Peace talks in Istanbul, Türkiye, have concluded without a “viable solution”, according to Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who arrived in the wake of this month’s deadly clashes. Dozens of people have been killed along the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the worst violence in the region since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.
The talks ended in disagreement over allegations that terrorist groups were using Afghanistan as a base to attack security forces on the Pakistan border.
“Pakistan does not need to use even a fraction of its entire arsenal to completely destroy the Taliban regime and push them back into caves to hide,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif told X. he said.
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An Afghan Taliban fighter sits on a tank near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar Province, after a clash between Pakistani and Afghan forces on October 15, 2025 in Afghanistan. (Reuters)
According to Reuters, the two countries reached an agreement on a ceasefire in Doha, Qatar, on October 19, but they could not find common ground in the second round of negotiations held in Istanbul under the mediation of Turkey and Qatar.
Both countries blamed the other for the failure of the talks.
“The Afghan side continued to deviate from the core issue on which the dialogue process was initiated,” Pakistan’s information minister said on Wednesday, accusing the Taliban of diversion, deception and playing the “blame game.” he said.
“Therefore, dialogue could not bring a workable solution,” he said.
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Taliban security personnel walk past a damaged car in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province on October 16, 2025, the day after cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. (Getty Images)
A Pakistani security source told Reuters that the Taliban is unwilling to agree to rein in a separate terrorist group, the Pakistani Taliban, that Pakistan says has been operating from within Afghanistan without consequences.
An Afghan source familiar with the talks told the press that the talks ended after “tense exchanges” on the issue, noting that Afghanistan claimed it had no control over the Pakistani Taliban.
The Pakistani Taliban has launched attacks on the Pakistani army in recent weeks.
The clashes began earlier this month after Pakistani airstrikes targeted the leader of the Pakistani Taliban in Kabul and other areas.
A Taliban security personnel stands guard along a road near the Ghulam Khan ground zero border crossing between Afghanistan and Pakistan in Gurbuz district in southeastern Khost province on October 20, 2025. (Getty Images)
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The Taliban retaliated with attacks on Pakistani military outposts along the 1,600-mile border that remains closed.
Pakistan’s defense minister said on Saturday that he believed Afghanistan was seeking peace, but failure to reach an agreement in Istanbul would mean “open war”.
Despite a ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban, clashes over the weekend resulted in the killing of five Pakistani soldiers and 25 Pakistani Taliban members near the Afghan border.
Reuters contributed to this report.
