Pakistan to not budge from its core demand of decisive action against terror outfits, sources say
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistani and Afghan Taliban officials went to Urumqi in China on Wednesday for a new round of talks brokered by China, sources said Express Pakinomist.
The discussions are scheduled for Thursday, with both sides represented by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as defense and security institutions. However, official sources said they remain cautious about any breakthrough.
They added that Pakistan will not budge from its core demand of verifiable and decisive action against the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups harbored by the Taliban regime.
The development came as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar departed China after completing his one-day official visit after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He left after hosting a meeting of foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt as part of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.
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Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have reached their lowest point. Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched in February following renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border after Afghan Taliban forces fired at several locations, prompting swift military retaliation from Pakistan.
The neighboring countries have since then been engaged in escalating hostilities along the border. Clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes targeting terrorist positions.
China’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Yue Xiaoyong, visited Kabul on March 8 and held talks with the Taliban regime’s Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to discuss bilateral cooperation as well as the deteriorating security situation in the region.
During the meeting, the Chinese envoy emphasized Beijing’s desire to see the tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. He stressed that preventing further escalation was important for regional stability and security.
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A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on March 13 that China would continue its mediation efforts to ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as Islamabad pushed for a change in the Taliban’s current approach to any meaningful engagement.
“To mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan, FM Wang Yi has been holding telephone conversations with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts over the past week,” the spokesman said.
Earlier, Pakistan informed China that it will continue with its existing policy of non-engagement with the Taliban regime, citing Kabul’s failure to change its position on the presence of the outlawed TTP and other terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.
China recently stepped up its diplomatic engagement by sending its special envoy on Afghanistan to both Kabul and Islamabad as part of a broader effort to defuse simmering tensions between the two neighbors.
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Sources familiar with the development said Express Pakinomist that while Pakistan acknowledged China’s sincere efforts to defuse the crisis, it made clear that a return to normal diplomatic engagement with Kabul was not possible without tangible changes on the ground.
According to the sources, Pakistani authorities informed the Chinese side that Islamabad had already exhausted all diplomatic avenues before adopting its current policy towards the Taliban government.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, Taliban officials reiterated to the Chinese envoy their longstanding position that the TTP issue was Pakistan’s “internal problem,” while maintaining that Afghan territory was not being used against neighboring countries.
Rising tensions
The latest escalation of tensions between the two countries follows a series of bumbling actions over the past year.
Pakistan has previously carried out airstrikes targeting TTP and Islamic State camps in Khorasan province inside Afghanistan following a spate of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad. Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, a claim that Kabul has repeatedly denied.
Tensions also rose after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently targeted areas along the Pakistan border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border shelling.
The exchanges caused losses and damage to infrastructure on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after the border crossings were closed on 12 October 2025.
Officials said Islamabad had no option but to resort to cross-border counter-terrorism operations after the Afghan Taliban regime failed to rein in terrorist groups targeting Pakistan.
Islamabad has repeatedly stated that terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil carry out attacks inside Pakistan, particularly the outlawed TTP.
