Weeks into Islamabad-Kabul negotiations with the help of mutual friends, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that the same have been suspended with “no plans for the fourth round of talks”.
Appearing on Geo News’ ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, the defence minister said there was “a complete deadlock” as negotiations had entered an “indefinite phase”.
He thanked Turkiye and Qatar for their “sincere efforts” to mediate tensions between the two neighbouring countries, and revealed that the mediators had supported Pakistan’s stance.
“They support our stance. Even the Afghan delegation agreed with us… however, they were not ready to sign a written agreement,” Asif said, adding that Pakistan would only accept a formal and written accord.
He said the Afghan delegation wanted verbal assurances to be accepted, which is not possible in international negotiations.
The defence minister further revealed that the mediators had done their best but eventually lost hope.
“If they had even a little optimism, they would have asked us to stay. Our return empty-handed shows that even they have given up on Kabul,” he said, reiterating that Pakistan’s position remained firm and clear.
“Our only demand is that Afghanistan must ensure its soil is not used for attacks on Pakistan,” he said and went on to warn that Pakistan would respond if provoked.
“If there is any attack from Afghan soil, we will respond accordingly,” he said. The defence minister, however, maintained that ceasefire would remain intact for as long as there was no aggression.
Earlier, Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime continued negotiating in Istanbul following an extension of ceasefire that came after deadly cross-border clashes last month.
The talks collapsed after Pakistan refused to accept the Taliban delegation’s “illogical” arguments and refusal to address Islamabad’s concerns regarding cross-border terrorism.
With mediators persuading Pakistan to give the talks another chance, the third round of talks had started Thursday, in an effort to ease escalating tensions.
The Istanbul meetings followed the earlier five-day talks that resulted in a last-minute interim agreement.
It merits a mention that Khawaja Asif had also in last week of October warned of an all-out war with Afghanistan if negotiations between Islamabad and Kabul failed to resolve the issues.
Speaking to journalists in Sialkot, the defence minister said that the country’s armed forces and police were sacrificing their lives to safeguard the nation, and the reason we sleep peacefully is because our protectors remain vigilant.
“Pakistan hosted Afghans for 40 years, and those we are negotiating with in Doha all grew up in Pakistan,” he had said in reference to the negotiations.