ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif announced on Sunday that Islamabad had reached a ceasefire agreement with Kabul in Doha, after days of fierce clashes between the two sides left dozens dead and increased tensions between the neighbors.
Asif was leading a Pakistani delegation in Doha on Saturday for talks with Afghanistan after days of fierce battles between the two countries along their long and porous border, which led to the deaths of dozens of people on both sides. Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar and Kabul before the two sides reached an uneasy truce that opened the window for bilateral talks arranged by Qatar.
Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan of sheltering militant groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and facilitating their attacks against its civilians and security forces. Kabul denies the allegation, though it has become a key sticking point between the two countries and has led more serious skirmishes than ever before.
“A ceasefire agreement has been reached between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Asif wrote on social media platform X on Sunday.
“The series of terrorist activities from Afghanistan on Pakistani soil will cease immediately. Both neighboring countries will respect each other’s territory — Alhamdulillah.”
