Pakistan has drawn a firm red line over terrorism emanating from Afghan soil after the Afghan Taliban said its efforts to settle the dispute through talks had finished without results. In a statement dated 31 October, Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said the Taliban's approach showed a deeply misguided approach and an unwillingness to confront what Islamabad calls the root cause of deteriorating relations: the persistent failure to address terrorism from Afghan territory.

The exchange followed remarks by Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid to Hurriyat Radio, in which he said Afghanistan had made its final efforts through talks, that messages had been exchanged between Kabul and Islamabad, and that mediation efforts by other countries and Taliban officials had also failed. Mujahid accused Pakistan of not wanting to resolve the conflict through talks and lacking readiness for a peaceful resolution. Pakistan rejected that account, saying the Taliban continues to blame Islamabad's policies while ignoring militant sanctuaries, and reserved the right to take all necessary measures, in accordance with international law, to eliminate threats to its national security, wherever they originate.

Washington has heard Islamabad's complaint

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the dispute at the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, saying Pakistan is concerned about terrorist attacks sponsored from Afghan territory and feels the Taliban has not done enough to constrain them. Previous rounds of talks facilitated by Qatar and Turkiye last year, efforts involving China this year, and the Moscow Format meeting in October, which ended without a joint statement, have all failed to produce a workable solution. No new round of talks has been scheduled, and Pakistan's statement announces no measure and no deadline: the red line is a stated position, not a decision taken.