Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to extend ceasefire amid ongoing talks
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to extend their 48-hour ceasefire, according to a media report.
The decision was made to maintain calm until the conclusion of planned negotiations in Doha, Reuters said in a report.
Citing Pakistani and Afghan security sources, Reuters reported that an Afghan delegation is expected to arrive in Qatar’s capital on Saturday for the talks.
A temporary truce between the two countries was initially reached on Wednesday following several days of intense fighting that left dozens dead and hundreds injured.
After the ceasefire took effect, Afghanistan proposed extending it, which both sides have now agreed upon.
The sources said that since the end of the initial 48-hour ceasefire on Friday, calm has largely prevailed on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
However, Pakistan reportedly carried out airstrikes on hideouts of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group in Afghanistan’s border areas in response to a recent suicide attack in Waziristan, killing over 100 militants.
The Taliban spokesperson confirmed the extension of the ceasefire, stating that the group neither wanted war in the past nor in the future.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has yet to issue an official statement regarding the extension.
Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan earlier said that the government was reviewing the ceasefire issue and a final decision would be made after consultations.
“We are currently in a temporary ceasefire. Our effort is to make it sustainable and find a diplomatic path for long-term stability in relations — that is our broader goal,” Khan said.
Observers have described the ceasefire, reached after recent border clashes, as a key step toward de-escalating rising tensions in the region.
Aaj English















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