Pakistan agrees to ceasefire with Afghanistan after days of bloodshed

Pakistan says it has agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire with Afghanistan following days of bloody cross-border violence.

The announcement came after Afghanistan’s capital city was rocked by an explosion on Wednesday afternoon.

In one video circulating on social media, and verified by Sky News, huge plumes of black smoke can be seen rising from a road in western Kabul.

However, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid claimed in a post on X that an oil tanker had exploded in the city and that “no one should worry”.

Then, Pakistani security sources told Sky News it had carried out “precision strikes” in Kabul and Kandahar provinces on Afghan Taliban and Pakistan Taliban targets, that the targets were isolated from civilians and had been “successfully destroyed”.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the ceasefire was at Afghanistan’s request and that it would be for 48 hours.

Moments later, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the truce was at “the insistence” of the Pakistani side.

He did not mention a 48-hour timeframe. All Afghan forces have been instructed to observe the ceasefire “as long as no one violates it,” Mujahid added.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring armed groups, a charge rejected by the country’s Taliban rulers.

Pakistan is grappling with militant attacks that have increased since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.

The escalation of tensions is likely to destabilise a region where groups, including the Islamic State and al-Qaida, are trying to establish a foothold and resurface.

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Before the ceasefire announcement, Pakistan said its troops killed dozens of Afghan security forces and militants in overnight fighting.

The clashes had stopped briefly on Sunday following appeals from major regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

‘Fierce response’

Security sources told Sky News other clashes had broken out in Kurram – a border region – where Afghan, Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij fighters had opened fire “without provocation”.

This had provoked a “strong and fierce response” from the Pakistan Army, which forced them to flee, abandoning their weapons and vehicles.

Taliban posts suffered heavy damage – including the destruction of a tank.

Pakistani forces said they had repelled “unprovoked” assaults, but denied targeting civilians after the Taliban government said more than a dozen were killed and over 100 others wounded when Pakistan targeted another site in a border area of Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province.

Pakistan’s army also targeted militant hideouts in the Afghan capital, two Pakistani security officials said.