Afghanistan and Pakistan, embroiled in more than a week of fighting that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
The violence constitutes the deadliest crisis between the two countries in several years. The two sides agreed to establish mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability, and to hold follow-up talks in the coming days to ensure the sustainability of the truce, the Qatari statement said. Qatar and Turkey mediated the negotiations, it added.
Delegations from the two countries arrived in Doha for talks on Saturday after air strikes and days of clashes fuelled fears of a burgeoning regional war. More than a dozen people have been killed and hundreds wounded on both sides in the latest wave of fighting between the neighbours.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants who carry out attacks in border areas, notably the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban. The charge is rejected by Kabul. The Pakistani Taliban is ideologically aligned with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, but a separate entity.
On Friday, a suicide attack near the border killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded 13 more, security officials said. Pakistan attacked sites in Afghanistan, killing at least 10 people, including civilians, after an initial 48-hour ceasefire expired. The truce was then extended for the Doha talks.
On Sunday, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, confirmed that both countries had signed a ceasefire agreement.
“It has been decided that neither country will undertake any hostile actions against the other, nor will they support groups carrying out attacks against Pakistan. Both sides will refrain from targeting each other’s security forces, civilians or critical infrastructure,” he said.
A mechanism will be established in the future “under the mediation of intermediary countries” to ensure the effective implementation of the agreement, he added.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif posted confirmation of the deal on X.
“Cross-border terrorism from Afghan territory will cease immediately,” he wrote. “Both countries will respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. A follow-up meeting between the delegations is scheduled to take place in Istanbul on October 25 to discuss the matters in detail.”
Both countries thanked Qatar and Turkey for their role in assisting the talks.
Fierce ground fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well as Pakistani air strikes across their contested 2,600km frontier began after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in militants who had increased attacks inside Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan. The administration in Kabul denies this and has accused Pakistan of spreading misinformation.
The Afghan delegation in Doha included the defence minister and head of the national intelligence agency, the ruling Taliban said. Pakistan sent its defence minister and intelligence chief.
Pakistan said before the talks that they would focus on “immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the border”.
Regional powers including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar had called for de-escalation, as the violence threatens to destabilise a region where ISIS and Al Qaeda are among the groups trying to resurface.
Mr Asif had accused Kabul of acting as "a proxy of India" and "plotting" against Islamabad.
Afghanistan's cricket team withdrew from a T20 tri-series, scheduled to take place in Pakistan in November, following the escalating tensions.
Deadly border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan – in pictures
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Smoke rises from the site of explosions in Kabul during border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Late on October 15, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry announced that a 48-hour ceasefire had been reached. AFP -
Afghan men inspect a house damaged in a Pakistani air strike during fighting between Taliban fighters and Pakistani border forces in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. AFP -
People carry the bodies of those killed in cross-border shelling during a funeral in Spin Boldak, Afghanistan. EPA -
A Taliban fighter rides on a Soviet-era tank towards the border in Spin Boldak. AFP -
A Taliban border patrol in Spin Boldak. EPA -
People flee the fighting on a loaded lorry at the border crossing in Chaman, Balochistan province, Pakistan. Reuters -
Afghan Taliban fighters patrol near the border in Spin Boldak. Reuters -
A boy sits in front of his destroyed home in Spin Boldak. EPA -
People injured in air strikes lie on hospital beds in Kabul, Afghanistan. Reuters -
A man clears debris from his damaged house during the temporary ceasefire in Spin Boldak. Reuters -
A building in Kabul said to have been damaged in a Pakistani air strike. EPA -
The funeral of people killed in cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan, in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. AFP -
Residents among the ruins of a house hit by drone strikes in Kabul. AP -
A group of people survey a building damaged in alleged Pakistani air strikes on Kabul. EPA
Pakistan is grappling with surging militancy, especially in areas bordering Afghanistan. It also accuses its nuclear-armed neighbour and biggest rival India of backing armed groups, without providing any evidence.
Its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has urged Afghans to choose “mutual security over perpetual violence and progress over hardline obscurantism”.
“The Taliban must rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan,” he told an audience on Saturday at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
