“Now we have the choice, if no settlement takes place, now we have an open warfare with them,” Protection Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif mentioned in televised remarks from Pakistan. “However I noticed that they need peace.”
Pakistan’s protection minister mentioned on Saturday he believes Afghanistan desires peace however that failure to achieve an settlement throughout talks in Istanbul would imply “open warfare,” days after each side agreed to a ceasefire following lethal border clashes.
The talks in Istanbul, which started on Saturday and are anticipated to proceed into Sunday, mark the most recent try by Pakistan and Afghanistan to stop a relapse into violence after the worst border combating because the Taliban’s 2021 takeover of Kabul.
The talks are supposed to devise a mechanism to implement the Doha ceasefire in the long run.
Khawaja Muhammad Asif mentioned there had been no incidents within the 4 to 5 days because it was agreed, and each side had been complying with the truce.
Afghan residents wait to register as they try and return to their nation, with vehicles loaded with their belongings seen within the background, after Pakistan closed border crossings for commerce with Afghanistan on the Chaman border crossing in Balochistan Province, Pakistan, October 18, 2025. (credit score: REUTERS/SAEED ALI ACHAKZAI)
Pakistan says warfare with Afghanistan nonetheless potential
“Now we have the choice, if no settlement takes place, now we have an open warfare with them,” he mentioned in televised remarks from Pakistan. “However I noticed that they need peace.”
The clashes erupted earlier this month after Islamabad demanded that the Taliban curb militants it says are attacking Pakistan from sanctuaries inside Afghanistan.
Pakistan launched airstrikes throughout the border and each side exchanged heavy fireplace, killing dozens and prompting the closure of key crossings that stay shut.
Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants who goal Pakistani forces. The Taliban rejects the cost and says Pakistan’s navy operations violate Afghan sovereignty.
