Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday announced a ceasefire following days of the deadliest clashes in years that killed dozens of people on both sides of the border.
The pause came after appeals from major regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, as the violence threatened to further destabilize a region where groups, including the Islamic State group and al-Qaida , are trying to resurface.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring armed groups, a charge rejected by the country’s Taliban rulers. Pakistan is grappling with militant attacks that have increased since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described the ceasefire as a 48-hour one and said the ceasefire was at Afghanistan’s request. Key border crossings remained closed.
Moments later, the Taliban government’s chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the truce was at the “insistence” of the Pakistani side. His social media post did not mention a 48-hour time frame.
Earlier Wednesday, Pakistan said its troops killed dozens of Afghan security forces and militants in overnight fighting.
Humanitarian group Emergency NGO, which runs a surgical center in the Afghan capital of Kabul, said it received five dead and 40 wounded following explosions in the capital.
Posted by John3262005
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# “You can’t keep snakes in your backyard and expect them to only bite your neighbour”-HRC
Also Dr. Najibullah had his finger on the pulse about the ISI in the 90s.
After this and the Cambodia/Thailand conflict a few months ago I can’t avoid thinking we will be in an era where tensions boiling out or long-held territorial claims will lead to week-long conflicts that accomplish nothing but a hundred dead.