Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has issued a strong warning to the Afghan Taliban after talks between Pakistan and Afghanistan failed. He said Pakistan will no longer tolerate the Taliban’s deceit and hostile actions.

According to Afghan and Pakistani sources, both sides had earlier agreed to a ceasefire on October 19 in Doha but failed to make progress in Istanbul.

ISLAMABAD/ISTANBUL: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Tuesday revealed that an agreement with Afghanistan was “within reach” during the second round of Istanbul talks but was derailed several times after the Afghan negotiators “backpedaled” following instructions from Kabul.

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Pakistan and Afghanistan are embroiled in a security row, with each claiming that they were responding to aggression from the other during border clashes.

Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned that Islamabad could no longer maintain relations with Kabul as it had in the past. He also threatened to retaliate against any source of terrorism targeting Pakistan, PTI reported.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Saturday he believes Afghanistan wants peace but that failure to reach an agreement during talks in Istanbul would mean open war. His statement comes just days after both sides agreed to a ceasefire following deadly border clashes.

Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi appealed to Federal Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Monday for the restoration both domestic and international flight operations of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from Peshawar,