Pakistan Breaks Off Diplomatic Relations With Taliban Regime

The Pakistani government has announced full severing of diplomatic relations with the Afghan Taliban. Aziz Khan, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman, said at a briefing on Thursday that the Pakistani government had closed the Taliban embassy in Islamabad. According to Aziz Khan, diplomatic relations with the Taliban have been broken off owing to the change in the situation." Previously, Taliban consulates had been closed in Karachi, Quetta, and Peshawar. Following the start of the anti-terrorist operation in Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates broke off official relations with the Taliban. Until recently, Pakistan had been the only country to maintain diplomatic relations with the movement.