Pakistan to not move from its core demand of decisive action against terrorist outfits, say sources
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan and Afghan Taliban officials headed to Urumqi in China on Wednesday for a new round of talks brokered by China, sources told The Express Tribune.
The discussions are scheduled for Thursday, with both sides represented by officials from the foreign office as well as defence and security institutions. However, official sources said they remain cautious about any breakthrough.
They added that Pakistan will not move from its core demand of verifiable and decisive action against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other terrorist groups being harboured by the Taliban regime.
The development came as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar departed from China after concluding his one-day official visit after meeting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He travelled 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 hit their lowest point. Operation Ghazab Lil Haq was launched in February following renewed clashes along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, after Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation by Pakistan.
The neighbouring countries have been engaged in escalating hostilities along the frontier since then. The clashes intensified after Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani air strikes 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 emphasised Beijing’s desire to see 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 spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on March 13 that China would continue its mediation efforts to ease tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, as Islamabad pressed for a change in the Taliban’s current approach for any meaningful engagement.
“To mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan, FM Wang Yi has had phone conversations with his Afghan and Pakistani counterparts during the past week,” said the spokesperson.
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 stance on the presence of the outlawed TTP and other terrorist groups operating from Afghan soil.
China recently intensified its diplomatic engagement by dispatching its Special Envoy on Afghanistan to both Kabul and Islamabad as part of a broader effort to calm the simmering tensions between the two neighbours.
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Sources privy to the development told The Express Tribune 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 conveyed to the Chinese side that Islamabad had already exhausted all diplomatic avenues before adopting its current policy toward the Taliban government.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, Taliban authorities 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 neighbouring countries.
Rising tensions
The latest escalation in tensions between the two countries follows a series of tit-for-tat actions over the past year.
Pakistan earlier carried out air strikes targeting camps of the TTP and Islamic State Khorasan Province inside Afghanistan after a wave of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad. Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, an allegation that Kabul has repeatedly denied.
Tensions also surged after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces subsequently targeted areas along Pakistan’s border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border shelling.
The exchanges caused casualties and infrastructure damage on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after border crossings were closed on October 12, 2025.
Officials said Islamabad was left with 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.
