Istanbul talks: Pakistan demands concrete Taliban action to stop cross-border terrorism

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani delegation in Istanbul has presented its final position to the Afghan Taliban, emphasizing that continued patronage of terrorists is unacceptable, security sources said on Sunday.

“The ongoing support and shelter for terrorists by the Taliban is not acceptable,” a senior Pakistani security official said. “Concrete and verifiable steps will have to be taken by the Taliban regime to eliminate cross-border terrorism from and inside Afghanistan.”

Sources described the Taliban’s arguments during the talks as “illogical and opposite to ground realities,” suggesting that Kabul may be pursuing an agenda not aligned with regional stability.

“It seems that the Taliban are following someone else’s agenda,” a security official said. “This agenda is not in the interest of Afghanistan, Pakistan, or the broader region.”

This is a developing story....