Pakistan says talks with Afghanistan can't be unconditional, wants verifiable end to cross-border attacks

Key takeaways

• Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said on Friday, 16 October, that any talks with Afghanistan "will not be unconditional".
• Spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan is not avoiding dialogue and would welcome sincere help from friendly countries.
• Islamabad's single demand, he said, is a verifiable mechanism to stop terrorist attacks coming from Afghan soil.
• The FO said there is no formal Russian mediation initiative under discussion at present, according to Dawn.
• At the same briefing, Pakistan rejected Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's latest remarks as provocative.

What the Foreign Office said

At the weekly media briefing in Islamabad, spokesperson Sajjad Haider Khan said Pakistan was open to discussions, including with Afghan representatives, and would welcome efforts by friendly states that address its "legitimate security concerns".

But he made clear there would be conditions. He said the Afghan Taliban administration had been "taking one step forward and one step backward" on terrorism, and that Pakistan's only demand was a verifiable way to ensure a complete end to attacks launched from Afghanistan.

According to reports of the briefing, Khan linked militant violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan to groups operating from Afghan territory, and said Kabul had moved away from earlier acknowledgements of the problem. He also urged the international community to help bring stability to Afghanistan.

The Moscow Format and Russia's offer

The comments follow the Moscow Format consultations on 5 October, which ended without a joint statement. Dawn reports that the two delegations disagreed over wording on terrorist networks in Afghanistan.

Khan said the absence of a communiqué showed Afghanistan did not accept language on terrorist networks that it had accepted the year before. Russia, the only country that has formally recognised the Taliban government, has offered to help if both sides ask. The FO said no formal Russian mediation initiative is currently under discussion.

What the Afghan side says

The Taliban authorities have repeatedly rejected Pakistan's accusation that Afghanistan is used as a base for attacks on Pakistan, and they have avoided taking a clear position on the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Dawn notes. No fresh response from Kabul to Friday's briefing had been reported at the time of writing.

Background: earlier mediation efforts

Source: Dawn's reporting on the briefing.

Other points from the briefing

• India: Pakistan condemned Rajnath Singh's remarks threatening a stronger response to any future attack, calling them provocative, and said any aggression would be met firmly.
• Saudi Arabia: The FO condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and backed the kingdom's right to defend itself.
• UN Secretary-General race: The FO also took questions on the election of the next UN chief; Pakistan currently sits on the Security Council.

What to watch

• Whether Kabul responds to the call for a "verifiable mechanism", and what such a mechanism could look like.
• Any formal request to Russia, China, Qatar or Türkiye to restart mediation.
• Security along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, where tensions have stayed high this month.