Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to ceasefire
Afghanistan and Pakistan have announced a temporary ceasefire, putting an end to the fighting which broke out between their forces on Wednesday morning. Over a dozen civilian deaths have been reported in the latest exchange of fire between the two neighbors.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced several hours after the clash that Kabul and Islamabad have agreed to a limited 48-hour truce, which is to begin at 6pm local time (13:00 GMT) on Wednesday.
In its statement, the ministry said both sides “will make sincere efforts through dialogue to find a positive solution to their complex yet resolvable issues.”
Earlier in the day, Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid wrote on X that Pakistani forces had launched an attack, firing “light and heavy weapons,” killing 12 civilians and injuring more than 100.
He claimed Afghan forces had returned fire, killing a “large number” of soldiers, seizing Pakistani weapons and tanks, and destroying military installations.
Ali Mohammad Haqmal, a press spokesman in Spin Boldak district, Afghanistan, the reported site of the altercation, put the civilian death toll at 15. AFP has also cited a local hospital official who said 80 women and children were among the wounded.
Islamabad has denied the allegations as “outrageous” and “blatant lies,” claiming it was the Afghan Taliban that initiated the hostilities by attacking a Pakistani military post and other areas near the border. The Pakistani army said its forces had repelled the assault, killing 37 Taliban fighters in two separate operations.
Reuters has reported, citing unnamed security officials, that the clash allegedly lasted around five hours.
The confrontation follows a weekend flare-up in which Afghanistan and Pakistan traded casualty claims. The Taliban said it had killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, while Islamabad claimed to have captured 19 Afghan frontier posts.
Cross-border tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan have intensified in recent years as both sides have repeatedly accused each other of harboring militants.
