Pakistan blames India for collapse of peace talks with Afghanistan
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif accused Delhi of waging low-intensity war from Afghan territory: Says there’s no doubt Taliban have become an Indian proxy
After failure of latest round of peace talks in Istanbul, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has accused India of using Afghanistan’s territory to wage a “low-intensity war” against Pakistan and blamed new Delhi for failure of talks between Islamabad and Kabul, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Thursday.
In an interview with Al Arabiya, the defence minister said that the Taliban regime and New Delhi have been in a “relationship for a long time”.
To a question, Asif said that the Taliban regime recently launched an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, adding the attack occurred when Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was on a visit to India.
“The Taliban regime has had long-standing ties with Delhi. Recently, their minister visited India for eight or nine days, and during that period, there were clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. We retaliated because of cross-border attacks in which we lost many soldiers,” he added.
The minister said, “There’s no doubt the Taliban have become an Indian proxy. India is waging a low-intensity war against us from Afghan territory to settle scores.”
Responding to a question, Asif said that India was behind the collapse of peace talks between Pakistan and the Taliban regime.
"On three or four occasions, the Taliban delegation had agreed to the terms being developed during the talks over the last four days. They accepted our point of view and recognised that most of these TTP terrorists are living on their territory."
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif clarifies whether the new defence pact with Saudi Arabia extends to nuclear deterrence and reiterates that Pakistan’s nuclear capability remains purely defensive.#Pakistan #SaudiArabia #DefensePact @KhawajaMAsif pic.twitter.com/zU67wBEi7t
— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) October 30, 2025
"They acknowledged the issue but were not ready to put anything in writing. We now want them to put it in writing so the international community can see for themselves that they are harbouring terrorists — not only TTP but all kinds of terror groups," he added.
The minister added: "Taliban regime is not only a threat to neighbours but to world peace."
It is pertinent to mention here that the four-day talks in Istanbul with the Afghan Taliban had ended without a breakthrough, despite Pakistan repeatedly presenting evidence-backed counterterrorism demands, confirmed Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar early Wednesday.
In an X post, Tarar said: “The dialogue thus failed to bring about any workable solution.”
While on the request of brotherly countries who were persistently being beseeched by Taliban Regime, Pakistan indulged in talks to give peace a chance, venomous statements by certain Afghan officials clearly reflect the devious and splintered mindset of Taliban regime.
— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) October 29, 2025
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