Pakistan and Afghanistan’s interior ministers met on the sidelines of an Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) summit in Tehran on Wednesday, where the two leaders exchanged handshakes and held brief talks.  Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi urged that the Pakistan-Afghanistan issue be resolved through dialogue, likening disputes between nations to disagreements within a household that are settled by talking. 

The meeting comes after talks in Istanbul between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban regime collapsed. Pakistan has announced operations against terrorists and their sponsors.  After the failed negotiations, Federal Information Minister Atta Tarar said no practical solution emerged, accusing the Taliban of failing to guarantee a halt to cross?border terrorism despite the evidence presented. 

He added that the Afghan delegation repeatedly avoided the core issue, and stressed that Pakistan will continue actions to eliminate terrorists and their supporters.  Tarar said the evidence Pakistan produced was sufficient and indisputable, and that the talks’ sole agenda had been to stop attacks launched from Afghan territory. 

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)