Pakistan and Afghanistan have implemented a ceasefire following the deadliest border clashes in years that killed dozens of people and led to evacuations on both sides.
The 48-hour truce began Wednesday at 6:00pm Islamabad time (13:00 GMT), with each country claiming the other requested the pause in hostilities.
Pakistan confirmed the ceasefire duration, stating: “During this period, both sides will sincerely strive to find a positive solution to this complex but resolvable issue through constructive dialogue.”
In Kabul, the Taliban government directed its forces to respect the truce “unless it is violated” by Pakistan, according to a spokesman’s statement on X.
This temporary cessation follows a week of escalating violence. The Taliban had initiated offensives along the southern Pakistani border, prompting Islamabad to threaten decisive retaliation.
Pakistan has consistently accused Afghanistan of sheltering Pakistani Taliban (TTP) fighters, claims that Kabul rejects.
As tensions peaked, two explosions in Kabul on Wednesday evening sent black smoke rising above the city. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid attributed these to an oil tanker and generator explosion without linking them to the border conflict.
Earlier on Wednesday, Pakistan’s military reported that Afghan Taliban fighters assaulted two major border posts in the southwest and northwest. It claimed both attacks were successfully repelled, with approximately 20 Taliban fighters killed near Spin Boldak in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
“Unfortunately, the attack was orchestrated through divided villages in the area, with no regard for the civil population,” the Pakistani military stated. It reported about 30 additional casualties from overnight clashes along Pakistan’s northwestern border.
The Taliban countered that 15 civilians died and dozens were wounded near Spin Boldak, with “two to three” of its fighters also killed. Spokesman Mujahid claimed 100 civilians were wounded and that Pakistani soldiers had been killed and weapons captured – assertions Pakistan’s military dismissed as “outrageous and blatant lies”.
While Pakistan did not detail its recent casualties, it had previously confirmed 23 soldiers killed in the confrontations last week.
The Taliban government claimed it launched its offensive in “retaliation for air strikes carried out by the Pakistani army on Kabul”. Islamabad pledged a robust response on Sunday, after which numerous casualties were reported on both sides.
In Khost province, Afghan state television journalist Abdul Ghafoor Abid was killed Sunday by Pakistani fire while reporting on the border conflict, according to a Taliban official.