In a joint statement shared on Sunday, Pakistan and the European Union (EU) called on Afghanistan to deal with terrorist organisations operating from its soil and to ensure the protection of human rights, especially those of women and girls.

The development came as the 7th Strategic Dialogue between Pakistan and the EU was convened in Brussels. The meeting was co-chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and the EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas.

According to a joint statement shared by the Foreign Office (FO), Dar and Kallas discussed relations between Islamabad and Kabul amid cross-border tensions last month, with both top diplomats reaffirming their commitment to regional peace, stability, prosperity, and resolving issues with neighbours through dialogue.

“The two sides called on Afghanistan’s de facto authorities to play a constructive role in achieving the shared objective of rooting out terrorism from Afghan soil,” the statement read.

It added that Dar and Kallas expressed concern over Kabul’s deteriorating socioeconomic conditions and were in favour of a “peaceful, stable and self-reliant Afghanistan”.

They also hoped that Afghanistan would advocate for a “credible political process aligned with the UN-led ‘Doha process’, and in line with the commitments made by the Taliban de facto Authorities to the international community”, according to the statement.

It added that the EU appreciated Pakistan’s hosting millions of Afghan nationals for over four decades, but emphasised that any repatriation must be “safe, dignified and in line with international standards”.

“Both sides called upon the Afghan authorities to ensure protection of human rights, especially for women, girls and vulnerable communities,” the statement read.

Breakdown in Pak-Afghan ties

Pakistan’s bilateral relations with Afghanistan have come under strain in recent times as the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) remains the main point of contention between the two countries.

Pakistan has demanded that the rulers in Kabul take action to stop cross-border terrorism, but the Afghan Taliban deny Islamabad’s allegations of terrorists being allowed to use Afghan soil to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

During a process of dialogue, which followed border clashes between the two countries in October, the two sides had met in an effort to work on mechanisms for lasting peace and stability between the two countries.

On October 25, the second round of talks between the two sides began in the Turkish capital. But Information Minister Attaullah Tarar then announced that the talks “failed to bring about any workable solution”.

However, mediators Turkiye and Qatar intervened and managed to salvage the dialogue process with an October 31 joint statement released by Turkiye stating that “further modalities of the implementation will be discussed and decided” during a principal-level meeting in Istanbul on November 6.

On November 7, however, after the third round of talks, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said that talks addressing cross-border terrorism were “over” and “entered an indefinite phase” as negotiators failed to bridge deep differences between the two sides.

Following the failure of the talks, the Afghan Taliban suspended trade ties with Islamabad. Pakistan had already closed its border for trade soon after the October clashes.