Pakistan, Afghanistan Agree on 48 Hour Ceasefire After Deadly Border Clashes
Intense fighting erupted along the Pakistan Afghanistan border on Tuesday night, leaving dozens of soldiers and civilians dead, according to reports quoting security officials from both nations. By Wednesday, the two sides reached a 48 hour ceasefire agreement, with each claiming that the truce had been proposed by the other.
Following the initial wave of clashes, Pakistan reportedly carried out airstrikes targeting areas in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul as well as the southern province of Kandahar. The information was confirmed by officials cited by international agencies Reuters and AFP.
Pakistan’s military stated that Taliban forces had launched two major attacks on border posts located in the country’s southwestern and northwestern regions. The assaults were successfully repelled, resulting in the deaths of roughly 20 Taliban fighters near Spin Boldak along the southern Kandahar frontier early Wednesday morning, AFP reported.
According to a military statement quoted by the agency, the attacks were carried out through divided villages without concern for civilian safety. The statement also added that around 30 additional Taliban fighters were believed to have been killed during overnight engagements near the northwest border.
On the Afghan side, officials confirmed that 15 civilians had lost their lives and several others were injured amid the renewed cross border hostilities.
Reuters further cited security sources saying that combat in Pakistan’s Orakzai district left six paramilitary soldiers dead and several more wounded. In response, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of conducting repeated attacks using both light and heavy weaponry.
The confrontation comes shortly after last weekend’s clashes, when Afghanistan reportedly carried out retaliatory strikes following earlier Pakistani air raids on Kabul.
Islamabad stated that it had responded with full force to what it called unprovoked aggression in the northwestern Kurram region, resulting in the deaths of several Taliban fighters and the destruction of their forward positions and a tank, according to Bloomberg’s account of state run Pakistan Television (PTV) reports on X. The network added that a senior leader of the Pakistani Taliban, a faction aligned with the Afghan Taliban, was killed during the counterattack.
In contrast, the Taliban government claimed to have eliminated several Pakistani soldiers, seized weapons and tanks, and captured multiple posts along the frontier.
Last weekend’s escalation began when Afghan troops targeted Pakistani border positions late Saturday, calling it retaliation for air raids conducted by Pakistan on Kabul on the night of October 7.
Afghanistan asserted that its strikes killed 58 Pakistani soldiers, while Islamabad reported 23 fatalities and claimed to have neutralized more than 200 Taliban and allied combatants in return fire. Border crossings between the two countries were shut down on October 12 amid the rising tensions.