Pakistan urges Afghanistan's Taliban to abandon militant stance for peace

At a Islamabad forum on Afghanistan and peace prospects, information minister Attaullah Tarar urged the interim Taliban administration to adopt a statesmanlike outlook rather than a militant one. He highlighted ongoing accusations that Afghan soil shelters groups launching attacks in Pakistan, a claim the Taliban denies. Pakistan recently carried out airstrikes in the border region, killing 28 terrorists, including suicide bombers.

Tarar noted that high-level delegations and mediation by Qatar, Turkiye and China have not succeeded because Afghanistan has not addressed Pakistan's core security concerns. He stressed that peace requires mutual willingness and a "live and let live" policy, while also raising worries about human-rights conditions in Afghanistan.