Pakistan Backs Iran’s Mediation Between Islamabad and Taliban
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry has announced its support for Iran’s proposal to mediate in the strained relations between Islamabad and the Taliban administration.
Tahir Hussain Andarabi, spokesperson for the ministry, responded to reports of Tehran’s efforts to organize a regional summit aimed at easing tensions between the two sides. He stated that Iran could play a significant role in resolving the crisis.
According to Andarabi, Islamabad believes in resolving regional issues through peaceful negotiations and diplomacy and is ready to cooperate with Iran in this regard. The Foreign Ministry spokesperson expressed gratitude for Iran’s efforts and emphasized that Pakistan remains open to mediation initiatives.
Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban authorities of allowing extremist groups to use Afghan territory to launch attacks against Pakistan, an allegation consistently denied by the Taliban.
The third round of direct talks between Islamabad and the Taliban administration, held last month in Istanbul with mediation from Qatar and Turkey, ended without any breakthrough. These negotiations were prompted by rising violence along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border but have so far yielded no tangible results.
The escalating border tensions and a lack of serious cooperation from the Taliban administration to prevent cross-border attacks have deeply concerned Islamabad and strained diplomatic efforts. Some analysts believe regional involvement, including Iran’s, could help break the deadlock in the talks.
