Pakistan, Afghanistan agree on 48-hour truce after fresh clashes along border

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a “temporary ceasefire” of 48 hours on Wednesday, Islamabad said, after an airstrike 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, the worst between the two Islamic countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

Earlier in the day, the Pakistan Army claimed it repulsed multiple attacks by the Afghan Taliban while killing over 40 attackers in separate incidents of border clashes.

Meanwhile, an Afghan official said at least 12 civilians were killed and more than 100 were injured after Pakistani forces launched an attack in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province.

A Pakistani foreign ministry statement said the two countries had decided to implement a “temporary ceasefire” for 48 hours 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.

The Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the ceasefire agreement was a result of the “request and insistence of the Pakistani side”.