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SummaryPakistan says Istanbul talks end without solutionTurkey-Qatar mediation fails to find common groundCeasefire holds, but weekend clashes kill 30 ISLAMABAD/KABUL, Oct 29 (Reuters) - Pakistan's defence minister threatened on Wednesday to "obliterate" the ruling Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, a dramatic escalation of rhetoric after the collapse of talks towards a lasting peace between the South Asian nations. Truce negotiations concluded in Istanbul without a "workable solution", Pakistan's information minister said early on Wednesday, in a blow for peace in the region after this month's deadly clashes. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Pakistan reacted with fury to the failure of the talks, which sources said ended with a disagreement over militant groups allegedly using Afghanistan as a base to attack its security forces along their border. "Pakistan does not require to employ even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding," Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said in a post on X. The Taliban and Afghanistan's defence ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the remarks. TALKS AIMED AT PREVENTING FRESH CLASHES Dozens were killed this month along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the worst such violence since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Both nations agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but could not find common ground in a second round of talks mediated by Turkey and Qatar in Istanbul, Afghan and Pakistani sources briefed on the issue told Reuters on Tuesday. Each blamed the other for the failure. "The Afghan side kept deviating from the core issue ... on which the dialogue process was initiated," Pakistan Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday, accusing it of engaging in deflection, ruses and playing a "blame game". "The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution," he added in a statement. Afghanistan's foreign and defence ministries did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment on the statement. A Pakistani security source said the Taliban had been unwilling to commit to rein in the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group hostile to Pakistan that Islamabad says operates with impunity inside Afghanistan. Ad Break Coming Up NEXT StayNext OffEnglish 180p288p360p480p540p576p720pHD1080pHDAuto (180p) About ConnatixV2127676363 About ConnatixV2127676363 Continue watchingafter the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE An Afghan source familiar with the talks said they ended after "tense exchanges" on the issue, adding that the Afghan side said it no control over the Pakistani Taliban, which has launched attacks against Pakistani troops in recent weeks. The sources sought anonymity as they were not authorised to speak publicly. FIREFIGHTS WITH MILITANTS CONTINUE The October clashes began after Pakistani air strikes this month on Kabul, the Afghan capital, among other locations, targeting the head of the Pakistani Taliban. The Taliban responded with attacks on Pakistani military posts along the length of the 2,600-km (1,600 miles) border, which remains closed. On Saturday, Pakistan's defence minister said he believed Afghanistan wanted peace but that failure to reach a deal in Istanbul would mean "open war". Despite a ceasefire between Pakistan and the Taliban, weekend clashes killed five Pakistani soldiers and 25 Pakistani Taliban militants near the border with Afghanistan, the military said on Sunday. Reporting by Asif Shahzad in Islamabad and Sayed Hassib in Kabul; Additional reporting by Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Writing by Alasdair Pal; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Clarence Fernandez Purchase Licensing Rights Get the key points from this story with Reuters AI Asif ShahzadThomson ReutersShahzad is an accomplished media professional, with over two decades of experience. He primarily reports out of Pakistan, Afghanistan regions, with a great interest and an extensive knowledge of Asia. He also reports on politics, economy, finance, business, commodities, Islamist militancy, human rights EmailXInstagramLinkedin
