By Asif Shahzad
ISLAMABAD/KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan and Pakistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire during talks in Doha, both sides said on Sunday, after a week of fierce border clashes, the worst violence between the South Asian neighbors since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
The ceasefire “has been finalized,” Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif posted on X on Sunday, saying both sides would meet again on October 25 in Istanbul to discuss “detailed matters.”
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement that the parties agreed to a comprehensive and meaningful ceasefire.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry, which mediated Saturday’s talks alongside Turkey, said follow-up meetings aimed to “ensure the sustainability of the ceasefire and verify its implementation in a reliable and sustainable manner.”
MILITANT ATTACKS, AIR ATTACKS
Pakistan and Afghanistan are looking for a way forward after clashes killed dozens and injured hundreds. The talks were led by Asif and his Afghan counterpart Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, both sides said.
Ground fighting between the former allies and Pakistani airstrikes along their disputed 2,600-kilometer (1,600-mile) border broke out after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in militants who had stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they were operating from safe havens in Afghanistan.
The Taliban deny harboring militants to attack Pakistan and accuse the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation about Afghanistan and harboring militants linked to the Islamic State to undermine its stability and sovereignty. Islamabad denies the allegations.
Militants have been waging war for years against the Pakistani state in an attempt to overthrow the government and replace it with their strict brand of Islamic government.
On Friday, a suicide attack near the border killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded 13, security officials said.
“The Afghan regime must stop proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan and are using Afghan soil to carry out heinous attacks inside Pakistan,” Pakistan army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir said at a cadet graduation ceremony on Saturday.
The Taliban spokesman said that at the Doha talks “it was decided that neither country will take hostile action against the other and no support will be provided to groups operating against the government of Pakistan.”
In a follow-up post on X, he said it reflected the Taliban’s long-standing position that Afghanistan’s territory will not be used against any other country.
The statements made about the agreement do not constitute a joint statement, he said.
AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWS FROM CRICKET SERIES DUE TO STRIKES
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan had carried out airstrikes in Afghanistan hours after the ceasefire, which began on Wednesday, was extended on Friday while the Doha talks continued.
He said the attacks were aimed at 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 has withdrawn from cricket’s Twenty20 international tri-series in Pakistan next month after the deaths of three local cricketers which the Afghanistan Cricket Board says were due to military strikes in Paktika province.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a post on X on Saturday that Pakistan had attacked “verified” camps of Islamist militants along the border areas and denied that the attacks had targeted civilians.
He said militants had attempted to launch multiple attacks inside Pakistan during the ceasefire period.
He said more than 100 militants were killed by Pakistani security forces, most of them in attacks on a militant group he said had carried out Friday’s suicide attack on the military camp.
Reuters could not independently verify the number of militants killed or any targets.
(Reporting by Mohammad Yunus Yawar in Kabul, Asif Shahzad in Islamabad, Mushtaq Ali in Peshawar and Menna Alaa El-Din in Cairo; writing by Asif Shahzad; editing by William Mallard, Sharon Singleton, Alison Williams and Tomasz Janowski)