ISLAMABAD/KABUL: Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a "temporary ceasefire" on Wednesday, Islamabad said, after an air strike and ground fighting sent tensions between the South Asian neighbours soaring, killing more than a dozen civilians. Wednesday's fighting along the volatile, contested frontier shattered a fragile peace after weekend clashes that killed dozens, the worst between the two countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
A Pakistani foreign ministry statement said that the two countries had decided to implement a "temporary ceasefire" for 48 hours starting 13:00 GMT on Wednesday. "During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts, through constructive dialogue, to find a positive solution to this complex yet resolvable issue", the statement said, adding that the truce was agreed upon at the request of the Afghan Taliban government. Afghan Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the ceasefire agreement was a result of the "request and insistence of the Pakistani side".
Kabul directs all its forces to observe the ceasefire provided the other side does not commit aggression, he said in a statement. The recent friction between the two former allies erupted after Islamabad demanded that the Afghan Taliban administration tackle militants who have stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operate from havens in Afghanistan.
The Taliban denies the charge and accuses the Pakistani military of conspiring against Afghanistan by spreading misinformation, provoking border tension and sheltering ISIS-linked militants to undermine the country's stability and sovereignty. Pakistan's military denies the charges and points to attacks in Pakistan by ISIS-K, or IS Khorasan, the regional affiliate of the IS group active in the neighbours. Both claim to have destroyed each other’s military posts
Fresh fighting broke out on Wednesday along the volatile Pakistan-Afghanistan border, killing more than a dozen civilians and troops to shatter a fragile peace after weekend clashes that killed dozens. The weekend fighting was the worst between the neighbours since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021, despite regular clashes between their security forces along the contested 2,600 km frontier. The Afghan Taliban said more than a dozen of its civilians were killed and 100 wounded as Pakistani forces launched attacks in the early hours of Wednesday in the district of Spin Boldak.
Pakistan said four of its civilians were wounded in attacks by "Taliban forces" in the district of Chaman, which is opposite Spin Boldak across the frontier. Fighting between troops and militants in a second incident in Pakistan's border district of Orakzai killed six Pakistani paramilitary soldiers and wounded six, two security officials said. Nine militants were also killed, they said, adding that the violence broke out during a search in the area by troops after a militant attack last week killed 11 Pakistani soldiers. The Pakistani military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Orakzai clash. But it dismissed as "outrageous and blatant lies" Kabul's accusation that Pakistan had launched the attack in Spin Boldak. — Reuters
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