Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday urged Afghanistan's interim Taliban administration to “move out of the militant mindset”, as relations between the two neighbours remain strained over allegations of cross-border militancy.
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“The interim Afghan government needs to move out of its militant mindset into a mindset of a statesman or state,” news agency PTI quoted Tarar saying while addressing a seminar in Islamabad on Afghanistan and the prospects for peace.
Ties between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated in recent months, with both sides accusing each other of supporting militancy. Islamabad has repeatedly alleged that militant groups use Afghan territory to carry out attacks in Pakistan, a charge rejected by Afghanistan's Taliban government.
Pakistan said its security forces carried out airstrikes on terrorist camps and hideouts in the border region with Afghanistan, killing 28 terrorists, including multiple suicide bombers.
Tarar described the situation as the “Afghan predicament or Afghan conundrum” and said it required a lasting and sustainable resolution.
“Pakistan and Afghanistan have been, are, and will remain neighbours. We have international borders, linkages, connections. But our past has been turbulent,” he said.
He said Pakistan believed in peace and peaceful coexistence but questioned whether there was a willingness on Afghanistan's side to achieve it.
“Can peace be achieved? Yes. But is there a will to achieve peace? The answer unfortunately is no,” he said.
Tarar said Pakistan had made several attempts to engage Kabul through high-level delegations and negotiations, while countries including Qatar, Turkiye and China had also facilitated efforts.
He claimed the attempts failed because Afghanistan did not address Pakistan's main concern over the alleged use of its territory by militant groups. Islamabad, he said, had also “responded to these activities through strikes against the terrorists”.
According to Tarar, militant safe havens continue to operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan has raised the issue with Kabul. He said peace would require a policy of “live and let live”.
Tarar also said Pakistan wanted peace but that its desire should not be interpreted as weakness. He additionally raised concerns over the human rights situation in Afghanistan.
