‘Some In Pakistan Playing With Fire’, Says Taliban As It Prepares For Next Round of Peace Talks

In a bid to salvage regional stability, Pakistan and Afghanistan are set to reconvene in Istanbul next week for high-level peace talks, with all parties agreeing to uphold a ceasefire until then.

Turkey's foreign ministry confirmed the meeting late Thursday, stating: "All parties have agreed to continue the ceasefire. The modalities of its implementation will be examined and decided at a high-level meeting in Istanbul on November 6, 2025."

The renewed diplomatic effort comes after the most violent confrontation between the two nations since the Taliban's return to power in 2021. On October 9, explosions in Kabul triggered a wave of violence that left over 70 dead and hundreds injured. Taliban authorities blamed Pakistan for the attacks, further straining relations.

Talks had been underway in Istanbul under the mediation of Turkey and Qatar, but Islamabad declared the negotiations collapsed on Wednesday. Despite this, both Pakistan's state broadcaster PTV and Afghanistan's RTA reported Thursday that discussions were likely to resume. RTA attributed the breakdown to "the unreasonable demands of the Pakistani side."

Sources told News18 that Pakistan had pressed for written guarantees and a formal security framework to curb cross-border militant activity. The Afghan delegation rejected these conditions, calling them "illogical and irrational," and insisted that Afghan soil was not being used to launch attacks on Pakistan.

A major point of contention remains Pakistan's demand for action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad views as a domestic threat. The Afghan Taliban reportedly told mediators that the TTP issue was internal to Pakistan and not relevant to bilateral talks. Kabul also demanded that Pakistan block U.S. drones from using its airspace to enter Afghanistan-a condition Islamabad refused.

Tensions escalated further on Thursday when Taliban interior minister Sirajuddin Haqqani issued a stern warning: "We are Muslims, brothers, neighbours, but some (in Pakistan), consciously or unconsciously, are playing with fire and war." He emphasized that while Afghans "do not want war," "defending the territory is one of the priorities."

Meanwhile, Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif intensified the rhetoric, accusing Kabul of serving as a proxy for Indian influence. Speaking on Geo News, Asif warned of disproportionate military retaliation if Afghan forces "look at Islamabad." He alleged that negotiations were repeatedly sabotaged after delegates contacted Kabul: "Whenever we got close to an agreement-either in the last four days or last week-when negotiators reported to Kabul, then there was intervention and the agreement was withdrawn."

Asif further claimed that Kabul was "being controlled by Delhi," adding: "I would compliment their delegation, but the people in Kabul pulling the strings and staging the puppet show are being controlled by Delhi." He accused India of using Afghanistan to wage a low-intensity conflict against Pakistan: "India is compensating for its defeat on their western border through Kabul. The junta there (in Afghanistan) has elements that have visited India and visited their temples. India wants to engage in a low-intensity war with Pakistan. To achieve this, they are using Kabul."

The two countries share a 2,600-kilometre (1,600-mile) border, a frontier now shadowed by diplomatic uncertainty and the threat of renewed violence.