5 hours ago Rachel Hagan Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban government have agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after more than a week of deadly fighting.
Islamabad has long accused the Taliban of harbouring armed groups which carry out attacks in Pakistan, which it denies.
Clashes intensified along the 1,600-mile mountainous border the two countries share after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital Kabul.
Rumours had circulated the blasts in Kabul were a targeted attack on Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of Pakistan Taliban.
But relations deteriorated after Islamabad accused the group of providing a safe haven to the Pakistan Taliban, which has launched an armed insurgence against government forces.
five hours before.
Rachel Hagan.
An “immediate ceasefire” has been agreed to by the Taliban government of Afghanistan and Pakistan following over a week of bloody combat.
Both parties have agreed to set up “mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability,” according to the foreign ministry of Qatar, which mediated the negotiations alongside Turkey.
Ending “hostile actions” is “important,” according to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, while Pakistan’s foreign minister referred to the agreement as the “first step in the right direction.”.
The fighting, which is the worst since the Taliban regained power in 2021, is said to have caused significant casualties on both sides.
Although Islamabad denies it, it has long accused the Taliban of harboring armed groups that conduct attacks in Pakistan.
Conflicts grew along the two nations’ 1,600-mile mountainous border after the Taliban claimed Pakistan was responsible for attacks on Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
There were rumors that Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistan Taliban, was the target of the explosions in Kabul. An unconfirmed voice message from Mehsud stating that he was still alive was released by the group in response.
Following Afghan troops’ attacks on Pakistani border posts in the days that followed, Pakistan retaliated with mortar and drone strikes.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported on Thursday that at least three dozen Afghan civilians had been killed and hundreds more had been injured.
Delegations gathered in Doha on Wednesday night to declare a temporary truce, but cross-border strikes persisted.
The Taliban claimed on Friday that Pakistan had killed eight people, including three local cricket players, in an airstrike.
The Taliban stated in the new pact that it would not “support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of Pakistan,” and both parties committed to not attacking each other’s critical infrastructure, security forces, or civilians.
The most recent ceasefire, according to Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif, means that “terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistan’s soil will be stopped immediately.” The two sides will meet in Istanbul for additional negotiations next week.
After the US-led invasion of 2001 resulted in the Taliban’s overthrow, Pakistan became a significant supporter of the group.
However, ties soured after Islamabad charged the organization with giving the Pakistan Taliban, who have started an armed uprising against government forces, a safe haven.
As per the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project, the group has launched at least 600 attacks on Pakistani forces in the past year.
