Information Minister Tarar stresses Pakistan will safeguard its sovereignty and regional security fully
\n islamabad
\nTalks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul reached a deadlock, on Friday, with Islamabad insisting that Kabul must take responsibility for controlling terrorism originating from its territory.
\nThis development came after Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime kicked off the third round of talks in Istanbul on Thursday in an effort to ease escalating tensions following last month\u2019s deadly border clashes.
\nThe Istanbul meeting follows the earlier five-day talks that resulted in a last-minute interim agreement.
\n\u201cPakistan is thankful to brotherly countries of Turkiye and Qatar for mediation of talks; onus lies on Afghanistan to fulfil its long-standing international, regional and bilateral pledges, regarding control of terrorism, in which so far they have failed,\u201d Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on X.
\nHe emphasised Pakistan\u2019s goodwill towards the Afghan people but warned against supporting any Taliban measures that harm Afghanistan or neighbouring countries.
\n\u201cPakistan does not harbour any ill-will against Afghan people. However, it shall never support the Afghan Taliban Regime\u2019s any measures that are detrimental to the interest of Afghan people as well as the neighbouring countries,\u201d Tarar said.
\nThe minister added that Pakistan will continue to safeguard its citizens and sovereignty. \u201cPakistan shall continue to exercise all options necessary to safeguard the security of its people and its sovereignty,\u201d he concluded.
\nPrior to this \u201cdeadlock\u201d, the second round of talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime was held on October 25 in Istanbul, Turkiye.
\nThe talks collapsed after Pakistan refused to accept the Taliban delegation\u2019s \u201cillogical\u201d arguments and refusal to address Islamabad\u2019s concerns regarding cross-border terrorism.
\nHowever, mediators persuaded Pakistan to give the talks another chance, which ultimately resulted in an agreement to uphold the ceasefire.
\nAt the end of the previous round of talks, a joint statement issued by the Turkish foreign ministry stated that all parties had agreed to maintain the ceasefire and establish a monitoring and verification mechanism to ensure peace and penalise any violations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Information Minister Tarar stresses Pakistan will safeguard its sovereignty and regional security fully islamabad Talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul reached a deadlock, on Friday, with Islamabad insisting that Kabul must take responsibility for controlling terrorism originating from its territory. This development came after Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime kicked off the third […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":425206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-513164","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n