Taliban blames Pakistan's 'unrealistic demands' for failure of negotiations

Kabul, Nov 11 (IANS) Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Naeem has blamed Pakistan's "unrealistic demands" and lack of coordination for the failure of talks between the two nations, local media reported on Tuesday.

Naeem stated that there was no outcome from the negotiations due to Pakistani side's “irresponsible and uncooperative behaviour" despite what he termed Taliban’s goodwill and the efforts of mediators, Afghanistan's leading news agency Khaama Press reported.

He said that certain factions of Pakistan's military did not intend to resolve issues through dialogue. He further said that blaming Taliban for all the security problems faced by Pakistan was "unjustified."

Naeem expressed Taliban's readiness to resume talks with Pakistan through diplomacy and mutual understanding whenever Islamabad "demonstrates goodwill and makes reasonable demands."

Taliban Deputy Foreign Minister's remarks came after Pakistani official Tahir Hussain Andrabi accused Taliban of using talks to make baseless allegations against Islamabad rather than addressing its concerns about terrorism.

The failure of talks between delegations of Pakistan and Afghanistan has further escalated tensions between two nations, which have accused each other for cross-border violence and militant activity. The third round of talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan in Istanbul ended without any outcome.

On Monday, Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi said that Pakistani delegation’s unreasonable demands were the main reason behind the failure of talks between two nations, Tolo News reported.

In his address at the graduation ceremony of the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomacy Institute, Muttaqi said, “The Pakistani representatives made demands during negotiations that were neither practical nor reasonable. One of their demands was: 'Give us a guarantee that there will be no more security incidents in Pakistan.'"

He reiterated Afghanistan's willingness to engaging and maintaining friendly ties with Pakistan based on mutual respect. However, he warned that Afghanistan is fully prepared to defend its territorial integrity if certain parties try to implement projects against Afghanistan’s sovereignty.

"Our efforts are aimed at bringing goodness to them. A Muslim should bring benefit to another Muslim. But if certain circles implement such projects, then Afghanistan also has the right to defend itself, and it will," he said.

Muttaqi noted that Pakistan's problems are not new, however, it is trying to connect them with Afghanistan. He said, “Pakistan’s problems are not new. Don’t you know that the TTP has been active in Pakistan for the past 25 years? Didn’t the Pakistani government itself declare that 70 to 80 thousand of their people were killed during the past two decades of conflict?”

--IANS

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