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.

Istanbul: Pakistan has claimed that the recent peace talks with Afghanistan in Istanbul collapsed after four days of tense negotiations, due to Pakistan’s secret agreement allowing the United States to conduct drone operations from its territory.

Khawaja Asif accused the Taliban government of harbouring fighters of TTP, the militant group responsible for a string of deadly attacks inside Pakistan.

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.

United States President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly sought credit for resolving global conflicts, also waded in, saying he would “solve the Afghanistan-Pakistan crisis very quickly”, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN) summit in Malaysia earlier in the week.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif delivered Pakistan's sternest warning yet to the Taliban regime on Wednesday, declaring that Islamabad would not hesitate to strike "deep into Afghanistan" if Kabul failed to rein in militants using its soil for attacks across the border.

Pakistan talks collapsed in Istanbul, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Islamabad has the capability to neutralise any threat. The Taliban condemned Asif’s comments as ‘provocative and irresponsible’.

He acknowledged the Afghan delegation’s effort during negotiations but accused Kabul’s leadership of derailing the talks under India’s pressure.