Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday said that an agreement was about to be reached with Afghanistan, but Afghan negotiators backpedaled after contacting Kabul during the negotiations.

A second round of talks between the two sides had begun on Saturday in Istanbul.

The Qatar talks had come after days of fighting along the Pak-Afghan border and strikes by Islamabad on Gul Bahadur group camps in Afghanistan. The agreement reached in Doha extended an initial 48-hour truce and resulted in a temporary ceasefire, as well as a commitment to reconvene in Istanbul to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.

Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada ke Saath’, the defence minister stated that negotiators had backpedaled on an agreement “four or five times” after receiving instructions from Kabul.

“Whenever we got close to an agreement — either in the last four days or last week — when negotiators reported to Kabul, then there was intervention and the agreement was withdrawn,” he outlined.

“I believe that the negotiations were sabotaged. We had an agreement, but then they called Kabul and backpedaled from the deal.”

Asif complimented the Afghan negotiators, stating that they “cooperated and gave us a hard negotiation. It was quite testing.

“I would compliment their delegation, but the people in Kabul pulling the strings and staging the puppet show are being controlled by Delhi,” he added.

The defence minister believed that the Kabul government lacked authority, as it had been “penetrated” by India, which was using Afghanistan to stage a proxy war against Islamabad.

“India is compensating for its defeat on their western border through Kabul. The junta there (in Afghanistan) has elements that have visited India and visited their temples,” Asif said. “India wants to engage in a low-intensity war with Pakistan. To achieve this, they are using Kabul.”

When asked to comment on threats by Afghanistan that they would “attack Islamabad” in the event of further hostilities, Asif replied: “If Afghanistan even looks at Islamabad, we will gouge their eyes out.

“They can employ the use of terrorists and they already are. Over the past four years, they have been using terrorists,” he added.

“There should be no doubt that Kabul is responsible for the terrorism in Pakistan. Kabul is a tool for Delhi. If they want to, God forbid, attack Islamabad, we will give a befitting response. A response 50 times stronger,” the defence minister said.

Last ditch effort

Earlier today, security sources stated that a last-ditch effort is underway to salvage ongoing talks between Islamabad and Kabul, despite the Afghan Taliban’s “stubbornness”.

“On the third day, the talks continued for 18 hours. During the 18 hours, the Afghan Taliban delegation repeatedly agreed to Pakistan’s logical and legitimate demand for credible and decisive action against the TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan) and terrorism,” a well-placed security source said.

They added that while the Afghan delegation acknowledged the central issue, its position changed due to “instructions received from Kabul”.

The security sources termed the “illogical and illegal advice received from Kabul” responsible for the “failure of the talks”. They affirmed that Pakistan and the hosts wanted to resolve the “complex issues in a very thoughtful and serious manner”.

“A last-ditch effort is still underway, despite the Taliban’s stubbornness, to somehow resolve this issue through logic and talks and the talks are moving towards a final round,” the security official said.

Earlier, sources familiar with the closed-door discussions said that while “most of the points had been mutually agreed between the two sides”, the mechanism for verifiable action against terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory, particularly the outlawed TTP, continued to be the main sticking point.

The atmosphere earlier yesterday had been markedly positive, with participants des­c­­ribing “encouraging progress” and “serious engagement” from both delegations.

However, by nightfall, it appeared that the process had once again hit a roadblock. According to the participants, the Afghan Taliban delegation continued to resist putting anything in writing, especially on the issue of providing verifiable guarantees to end support for the TTP.

“We kept hoping that we would be able to sign a mutual document with Afgha­nistan soon, followed by a joint statement, but it still remains out of our reach,” one source said yesterday.

“The hosts understand Pakistan’s concerns,” one Pakistani official said, “but people in Kabul and Kandahar are not willing to commit“.

“It is a difficult phase,” another source admitted, reflecting the growing sense of frustration within the room as stalemate persisted.

“The Afghan side has made it clear that tensions benefit no one,” one member of the delegation said. “We are hopeful that these talks will produce a positive outcome.”

Mediators from Turkiye and Qatar were said to share this sentiment. “Even if the talks didn’t produce a breakthrough, the fact that both sides stayed engaged for three straight days is important,” one mediator said. “It shows that neither wants the process to collapse.”

The tone on Monday contrasted with the pessimism that followed Sunday’s nine-hour discussions, when Pakistani officials said Islamabad had presented its final position to the Taliban delegation. “Pakistan has made it clear that the ongoing patronage of terrorists by the Afghan Taliban is unacceptable,” a senior security official had said.