Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to 48-hour ceasefire after deadly border clashes
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring armed groups, resulting in violence that has killed dozens along the border
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the ceasefire was at Afghanistan’s request.
Moments later, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the truce was at “the insistence” of the Pakistani side. His social media post did not mention a 48-hour time frame. All Afghan forces have been instructed to observe the ceasefire “as long as no one violates it”, Mujahid added.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring armed groups, a charge rejected by the Taliban rulers. Pakistan is grappling with militant attacks that have increased since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.
Pakistan forces said they had repelled “unprovoked” assaults, but denied targeting civilians after the Taliban government said more than a dozen were killed and more than 100 others wounded when Pakistan targeted sites in a border area of Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province.