ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has denied reports that it sent a government delegation to Kabul for secret talks with the Afghan Taliban, saying such claims were false and fueled by “Afghan propaganda accounts” on social media, according to Dawn News.
The reports first surfaced after Afghanistan’s Tolo News, citing an unnamed source, claimed that a three-member Pakistani delegation had arrived in Kabul to ease rising border tensions. However, Pakistani officials quickly dismissed the story, calling it baseless.
“There is no truth to these reports,” an official source in Islamabad told local media on Tuesday. “Pakistan has not sent any delegation to Kabul.”
The officials said Pakistan’s stance remains unchanged and there will be no talks with the Afghan Taliban until they take concrete action against militant groups operating inside Afghanistan, especially the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad calls Fitna-al-Khawarij.
“The Afghan Taliban must stop supporting Fitna-al-Khawarij and eliminate their hideouts,” the source added, using a term rooted in religious history that Pakistan reserves for the banned TTP.
The denial comes amid growing strain between the neighboring countries, following weeks of cross-border violence. Pakistan recently launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in late February, after accusing Taliban forces of opening “unprovoked fire” across the frontier. The operation aims to target militant bases allegedly operating from Afghan territory.
Since the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021, Islamabad has repeatedly claimed that the TTP has found safe haven inside Afghanistan, a charge the Taliban deny. Meanwhile, United Nations monitoring reports have also noted signs of TTP activity in eastern Afghanistan over the past two years.
Despite repeated diplomatic exchanges, tensions remain high. For now, Pakistan insists that dialogue will only resume once Kabul proves it is willing to act firmly against groups threatening Pakistan’s security.
“We want peace,” a senior official said, “but not at the cost of our soldiers’ lives.”
