...the once and current oppressors of Afghanistan...as the second round of talks between the two sides concluded, sources said.
The discussions, held in Istanbul on Saturday, are part of Islamabad's efforts to establish a mechanism to curb cross-border terrorism originating from Afghan soil.
The Istanbul round follows earlier Pakistain-Afghanistan talks — mediated by Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
and Turkiye — held in Doha on October 19, where both sides agreed to a ceasefire, though border trade remains suspended. The Afghan delegation is being led by Deputy Interior Minister Rahmatullah Mujib.
During his weekly press briefing on Friday, Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Hussain Andrabi said that Pakistain looks forward to the establishment of a concrete and verifiable monitoring mechanism in the Istanbul talks to address the menace of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil towards Islamabad.
"As a responsible state committed to regional peace and stability, Pakistain does not seek escalation but urges the Afghan Taliban authorities to honour their commitment to the international community and address Pakistain's legitimate security concerns by taking verifiable action against terrorist entities, including the FAK/TTP and FAH/BLA," he added.
The foreign office spokesperson also termed the first round a first step in ensuring regional peace and stability. He said the Doha talks focused on immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism against Pakistain stemming from Afghanistan and the restoration of peace and stability along the Pakistain-Afghanistan border.
Answering a query, Andrabi said that there had been no major full-scale terrorist attack emanating from Afghan soil in Pakistain in the last two to three days, terming it a fruitful outcome of the first round.
The foreign office spokesperson said that border crossings with Afghanistan would remain closed, citing the security situation, stressing that saving the life of an ordinary Pak is more important than the movement of goods or trade.