Pakistan’s defence minister on Wednesday threatened to “obliterate” Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, marking a sharp escalation in rhetoric following the collapse of peace talks between the neighbouring South Asian nations.

Truce negotiations concluded in Istanbul without a “workable solution”, Pakistan’s information minister said early on Wednesday, in a blow for peace in the region after this month’s deadly clashes.

Pakistan reacted with fury to the failure of the talks, which sources said ended with a disagreement over militant groups allegedly using Afghanistan as a base to attack its security forces along their border.

“Pakistan does not require employing even a fraction of its full arsenal to completely obliterate the Taliban regime and push them back to the caves for hiding,” Def

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