Pakistan-Afghanistan Agree On Interim Ceasefire After Military Clashes

UNSPLASH/Ali Khokhar ILLUSTRATION

JAKARTA - Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed a temporary ceasefire after airstrikes and ground battles escalated tensions between the two neighboring South Asian countries that killed dozens of civilians.

Fighting on Wednesday, October 15, along the volatile and contested border destroyed fragile peace after weekend clashes that killed dozens of people.

This is the worst clash between the two Islamic countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

A statement by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the two countries decided to implement a "temporary ceasefire" for 48 hours starting Wednesday.

"During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts, through constructive dialogue, to find a positive solution to this complex but solvable problem," the statement said.

A ceasefire called Pakistan was agreed upon at the request of the Afghan Taliban government.

Reportedly, Afghan Taliban fighters sat on tanks near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in Spin Boldak, Kandahar province, after a shootout between Pakistani and Afghan forces.

A spokesman for the Afghan Taliban government, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the ceasefire agreement was the result of the request and pressure of the Pakistani side.

Kabul ordered all its troops to comply with the ceasefire on the condition that the opposing side did not carry out aggression.

The latest clashes between the two former allies erupted after Islamabad demanded that the Afghan Taliban government deal with the militants that stepped up attacks in Pakistan.

Pakistan said militants were operating from hiding places in Afghanistan.

The Taliban denied the allegations and accused the Pakistani military of conspiring against Afghanistan by spreading misinformation, provoking tensions at the border, and protecting ISIS-linked militants to undermine the country's stability and sovereignty.

Instead, the Pakistani military denied the allegations and referred to the attacks on Pakistan by ISIS-K, or Islamic State Khorasan, regional affiliates of active Islamic State groups in neighboring countries.