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Pakistan blamed India for failed talks with Taliban, but secret US drone deal the real cause
Afghan negotiators had demanded a written commitment from Pakistan to stop violating Afghan airspace and to prevent foreign drone flights over Afghan territory.
The Pakistan-Afghanistan peace talks in Istanbul collapsed this week after four days of negotiations. Amid the collapse, reports revealed that Islamabad’s secret pact allowing US drone operations from its soil was the real reason behind the deadlock, not Indian interference as claimed by Pakistan.
The drone deal Pakistan couldn't deny
According to TOLO News, Afghan negotiators demanded a written commitment from Pakistan to stop violating Afghan airspace and to prevent foreign drone flights over Afghan territory. In return, Kabul would pledge to prevent anti-Pakistan militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), from operating across the border.
However, the talks broke down after the Pakistani delegation reportedly admitted that a “foreign country” was conducting drone operations from its territory later confirmed by TOLO News to be the United States.
“For the first time, Pakistan admitted during these negotiations that it has an agreement with the United States allowing drone strikes, and claimed it cannot break that agreement,” the Afghan outlet said a report.
Under US President Donald Trump, Pakistan has strengthened defence cooperation with America, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army chief Asim Munir making visits to the White House. Trump, meanwhile, has demanded that the Taliban return the Bagram Airbase to the US, warning that “bad things will happen” otherwise.
The phone call that changed Pakistan’s position
Negotiators told Afghan media that the Pakistani side initially showed willingness to consider Kabul’s terms, but reversed course after a phone call “likely from Pakistan’s high command.” Following that, the delegation insisted it had “no control” over the US drone operations and could not commit to halting them.
Qatari and Turkish mediators were reportedly “surprised” by Pakistan’s sudden reversal.
Islamabad falsely blames India
Pakistan’s defence minister Khawaja Asif later accused India of sabotaging the talks, saying on Geo News, “The people in Kabul pulling the strings and staging the puppet show are being controlled by Delhi.”
But what Asif didn’t mention, Afghan media noted, was how his delegation’s stance changed immediately after the phone call confirming Pakistan’s inability to stop US drones.
Afghan journalist Tameem Bahiss wrote on X that Pakistan “acknowledged signing an agreement with a ‘foreign country’ that permits drones to operate within its airspace for surveillance and potential strikes inside Afghanistan.”
A fragile ceasefire, a tense border
The failed talks come as a fragile ceasefire holds along the Durand Line following deadly border clashes in September and October that killed over 200 people on both sides. The Taliban government says Pakistan’s air and drone strikes have killed civilians, including women and children.
Afghanistan’s defence minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid warned Islamabad that “any fresh violation of Afghan airspace” would be met with a “reciprocal response.”
