Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to truce after huge casualties

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday after an air strike and ground fighting ramped up tensions between the South Asian neighbours, leaving more than a dozen civilians dead and 100 wounded.

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Wednesday's fighting along the volatile, contested frontier shattered a fragile peace after dozens were killed in weekend clashes, the worst between the two Islamic countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

A Pakistani foreign ministry statement said the two countries would implement a “temporary ceasefire” for 48 hours starting 1300 GMT on Wednesday, adding the truce was requested by Kabul.

Afghan Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the ceasefire was due to the “insistence of the Pakistani side.”

Kabul had directed its forces to observe the ceasefire provided the other side does not commit aggression, he said.

With both countries on edge, plumes of black smoke were seen rising above Kabul after the two blasts in the Afghan capital on Wednesday evening, AFP reporters said.

Mujahid said an oil tanker and a generator had exploded, sparking fires, although he did not explicitly link the blasts to the clashes with Pakistan. However, a Pakistani security source told AFP that Islamabad had carried out “precision strikes” in the Afghan capital.

Ambulances raced through Kabul and shattered glass from damaged buildings littered the streets, AFP saw. Taliban forces also cordoned off some city streets.