Afghanistan occupies a central position in Tehran’s changing playbook, as the country is both a risk and a buffer for Iran.

ISLAMABAD: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has said that Pakistan-Afghanistan relations cannot return to normal unless Afghanistan stops backing the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan .In an

Pakistan’s defense minister warned Afghanistan on Wednesday that any new “terrorist or suicide attack” by militants on Pakistani soil would draw a stern response, hours after talks between the two countries in Istanbul failed to secure a peace agreement.

ISLAMABAD/ISTANBUL: Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on Tuesday revealed that an agreement with Afghanistan was “within reach” during the second round of Istanbul talks but was derailed several times after the Afghan negotiators “backpedaled” following instructions from Kabul.

The Taliban’s hard-line government in Afghanistan is making major inroads in garnering legitimacy abroad. Despite its extremist policies, the international community has accepted that the Islamist group is here to stay,

Pakistan confirms failed talks with Afghanistan, accusing Kabul of backtracking on commitments to combat cross-border terrorism.

The Istanbul talks are part of a broader diplomatic push to ease months of heightened tension between Islamabad and Kabul over cross-border attacks and militant safe havens.

Shortly before a ceasefire brought an end to a week of violence along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in which dozens of troops and civilians were killed, a video of a fire at a plaza in Peshawar was shared in posts falsely claiming it was the result of an Afghan drone attack.