ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks hosted by Doha, Qatar’s foreign ministry said early on Sunday, after the South Asian neighbors extended the ceasefire following a week of fierce border clashes.
Qatar’s foreign ministry said Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire during a round of talks brokered by Qatar and Turkey on Saturday.
It also said it had agreed to hold follow-up meetings in the coming days “to ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire and to verify its implementation in a reliable and sustainable manner”.
The two sides earlier said they were holding peace talks in Doha on Saturday, seeking a way forward after clashes killed dozens and wounded hundreds in the worst violence between the two countries since the Taliban took power in Kabul in 2021.
“As promised, negotiations with the Pakistani side will take place today in Doha,” Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said, adding that a Kabul team led by Defense Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob had arrived in Doha.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry earlier said Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif would lead talks with Afghan Taliban officials.
“The talks will focus on immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism against Pakistan emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the Pak-Afghan border,” it said.
Ground fighting between the former allies and Pakistani airstrikes across their disputed 2,600-km (1,600-mile) border was triggered after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in militants who have stepped up attacks in Pakistan and said they were operating from sanctuaries in Afghanistan.
The Taliban deny harboring militants to attack Pakistan and accuse the Pakistani military of spreading disinformation about Afghanistan and harboring Islamic State-linked militants to undermine its stability and sovereignty. Islamabad denies the allegations.
Militants have been waging war against the Pakistani state for years in an attempt to overthrow the government and replace it with their strict system of Islamic rule.
On Friday, a suicide attack near the border killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded 13, security officials said.
“The Afghan regime must rein in the proxies who are taking refuge in Afghanistan and using Afghan soil to carry out heinous attacks inside Pakistan,” Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, said in a speech at a cadet graduation on Saturday.
AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAW FROM CRICKET SERIES OVER BETTING
An Afghan government spokesman said Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan hours after a ceasefire that began on Wednesday was extended on Friday as long as talks continue.
He said the attacks targeted civilians, adding that Kabul reserved the right to respond, but that Afghan fighters had been ordered to refrain from retaliating to respect the negotiating team.
Afghanistan have pulled out of a Twenty20 international tri-series in Pakistan next month following the deaths of three local cricketers, which the Afghanistan Cricket Board said were caused by military strikes in Paktika province.
In a post on X on Saturday, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Pakistan had attacked “verified” Islamist militant camps along the border areas and denied that the attacks targeted civilians.
He said militants had attempted several attacks inside Pakistan during the ceasefire period.
He said Pakistani security forces had killed more than 100 militants, most of them in attacks against a militant group he said carried out Friday’s suicide attack on a military camp.
Reuters could not independently verify the reported number of militant casualties or any targets.
(Menna Alaa El-Din in Cairo;
