Pakistan threatens Taliban after peace talks' failure

Pakistan's Defense Minister, Khawaja Mohamed Asif, announced on Wednesday his intention to take action against the ruling Taliban Movement in Afghanistan, following the failure of talks held between the two countries in Istanbul aimed at reaching a long-term truce.

Pakistani Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar, said earlier on Wednesday that the talks, which aimed to achieve a long-term ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan, concluded in Istanbul without reaching a "practical solution," a blow to peace efforts in the region after deadly clashes erupted earlier this month.

Pakistan reacted angrily to the failure of the talks, on which sources said that ended in disagreement over allegations that militant groups were using Afghanistan as a base to attack its security forces on the border.

Asif added on the X platform, "Pakistan does not need to use even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely eliminate the Taliban regime and cause its members hide in caves."

The Taliban Movement and the Afghan Ministry of Defense have not yet responded to a request for comment on these statements.

J.J