Pakistan-Afghanistan Peace Talks Collapse After Deadly Clashes; Khawaja Asif Warns of ‘Tora Bora Repeat’
After the deadliest border clashes in years, Pakistan said on Wednesday that peace talks with Afghanistan had “failed”, but added his country was committed to facilitating any further settlement between the warring sides.
Aadrika Tayal 
New Delhi (India) October 29: Pakistan defence minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned Kabul, as reported by media on Wednesday, that the country would not even have to deploy its full military might in annihilating the Taliban in Afghanistan and added that history may repeat itself in the Tora Bora battle.
The comments followed Pakistan's announcement hours earlier that talks to end its rift with the Taliban government had collapsed, AFP said. More than 70 people have also been killed and hundreds wounded in recent confrontations after the explosions in Kabul on October 9, the agency said. The two sides had been in negotiations, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, in Istanbul.
Asif Issues Strong Warning to Kabul
Questioned about whether Afghanistan was on the brink of its own Tora Bora moment, however, the Pakistani minister said yes. He said, “If they wish so, the repeat of the scenes of their rout at Tora Bora, with their tails between the legs, would surely be a spectacle to watch for the people of the region.”
While announcing the collapse of ceasefire machinery between Islamabad and Kabul in Istanbul, Pakistan's information minister Attaullah Tarar had said, “Regrettably, the Afghan side gave no assurances, kept deviating from the core issue and resorted to blame game, deflection and ruses,” on X.
Talks in Istanbul End Without Breakthrough
Asif said that on the behest of brotherly countries, Pakistan engaged in negotiations to give peace a chance, but “venomous statements by certain Afghan officials clearly reflect the devious and splintered mindset of the Taliban regime”.
He said, “Let me assure them that Pakistan does not require employing even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding. If they wish so, the repeat of the scenes of their rout at Tora Bora with their tails between the legs would surely be a spectacle to watch for the people of the region,” on X.
Pakistan accuses India
Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has accused Afghanistan of proxying for India and cautioned that any aggression against Islamabad would be punished with a reaction that was “50 times stronger.”
Reacting to Pakistan’s allegations that India was responsible for the recent attack in Afghanistan, the Ministry of External Affairs had said earlier today that Islamabad has long been a safe haven for terrorists.
The ministry said, “Three things are clear. One, Pakistan hosts terrorist organisations and sponsors terrorist activities. Two, it is an old practice of Pakistan to blame its neighbours for its own internal failures. Three, Pakistan is infuriated with Afghanistan exercising sovereignty over its own territories.”
Border Tensions Rise
The October 9 bombings in Kabul, which came as Afghan foreign minister Amir Muttaqi was visiting India, were followed by a string of retaliatory strikes on the border. The Taliban launched an offensive, and Pakistan retaliated with airstrikes.
A 48-hour truce that the warring sides had first accepted quickly fell apart, but a second ceasefire was briefly struck on October 19 after more mediation in Doha.
Yet the border remains closed for more than two weeks now, with agitated protesters on both sides taking to the streets driven by failed diplomatic talks.
