Source: AP
DST News: After more than a week of deadly clashes that have left dozens dead and hundreds injured, Afghanistan and Pakistan have reached an agreement for an immediate ceasefire, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced Sunday. The confrontation marks the most serious escalation between the two neighbors in recent years.
According to Qatar’s statement, both sides agreed to create mechanisms aimed at promoting lasting peace and stability and to hold follow-up discussions in the coming days to ensure the truce endures. The statement also noted that the talks were mediated by Qatar and Turkey.
Fighting between the two countries has intensified since early October, with each blaming the other for cross-border aggression. Afghanistan has rejected Pakistan’s accusations that it shelters militants responsible for attacks along the frontier.
Pakistan continues to struggle with a resurgence of militancy since 2021, when the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan. The renewed hostilities risk further destabilizing a region already threatened by groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida, which are seeking to reassert their presence.
Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert, said the ceasefire “gives both sides a little breathing space” to reassess their next steps, but warned that the root causes of the conflict remain unresolved. “The Taliban have not addressed Pakistan’s concerns about cross-border terrorism,” he said. “In fact, they continue to deny any responsibility.”
Airstrikes spark outrage and sporting boycott
The announcement followed a breakdown of a previous 48-hour ceasefire, which expired Friday evening. Soon after, Pakistan carried out airstrikes across the border.
Pakistani security officials told The Associated Press that the strikes targeted militant hideouts in Afghanistan’s eastern Paktika province belonging to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group. They said the operation was retaliation for a suicide bombing at a security compound in Mir Ali, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the day before. According to the officials, the strikes killed several militants without causing civilian casualties.
However, Afghan officials reported that the air raids killed at least 10 civilians — among them women, children, and local cricketers participating in a nearby match.
The incident sparked widespread outrage. Afghanistan’s cricket board announced a boycott of its upcoming series in Pakistan, and the International Cricket Council expressed that it was “deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of three promising young Afghan cricketers.”
Thousands of mourners gathered Saturday in Paktika for funeral prayers, condemning the strikes as loudspeakers carried emotional sermons across the crowd.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, denounced what he described as “repeated crimes by Pakistani forces and violations of Afghanistan’s sovereignty.” He accused Islamabad of engaging in “deliberate provocations designed to prolong the conflict.”
The two nations share a 2,611-kilometer (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has never officially recognized.
Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, urged Kabul to pursue peace rather than confrontation. “Afghanistan must choose mutual security over perpetual violence and progress over hardline obscurantism,” he said at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul. Munir also called on the Taliban to curb militant groups operating from Afghan territory.
High-level delegations from both countries arrived in Doha on Saturday to take part in the Qatari-brokered negotiations aimed at reinforcing the ceasefire and preventing further escalation.
