KARACHI, Pakistan / ISTANBUL —
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to a temporary ceasefire to halt days of deadly border clashes, according to official announcements from both governments on Wednesday.
The 48-hour truce, which took effect at 6 p.m. local time (1300 GMT), is aimed at easing tensions along the frontier, where fighting in recent days has claimed multiple lives on both sides.
In a statement, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said both nations had agreed to “sincerely pursue constructive dialogue” to find a lasting solution to what it described as a “complex but resolvable issue.”
The Afghan interim administration’s spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed the ceasefire, noting that all Afghan forces had been instructed to uphold it “unless provoked.”
This marks the second ceasefire in less than a week, following earlier hostilities that erupted Saturday night but subsided after mediation efforts by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Just hours before the truce was announced, Pakistani security sources said the country’s forces had carried out “precision strikes” inside Afghanistan, targeting militant hideouts in Kandahar province and the capital, Kabul. The targets, according to Islamabad, were linked to the Afghan Taliban and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants.
Earlier in the day, Afghan officials reported that 12 nationals had been killed during overnight clashes. The recent confrontations are among the deadliest since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan.
The renewed tensions reportedly began last week after Kabul accused Islamabad of violating an existing truce.
Both governments now hope the ceasefire will provide a window for de-escalation and diplomatic engagement, though regional analysts warn that deep-seated mistrust continues to threaten long-term peace.