Border calm as Taliban, Pakistan agree to cease hostilities after fatal clashes

Edited by: Vikrant Singh

Islamabad | Pakistan and Afghan Taliban forces have agreed on ceasing hostilities along the border following deadly clashes over the weekend, sources in the Pakistani government have claimed. 

The sources added that the request for a ceasefire was initiated by the Afghan side following clashes that caused casualties on both sides. 

The sources further said that the Afghan Taliban government has “communicated their resolve to not ‘allow any group to use Afghan soil against any country to cause harm’”.

Pakistani side claimed at least 13 Taliban soldiers died in Pakistani retaliation as militants linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) allegedly tried to enter Pakistan near Kurram and North Waziristan points overnight on December 28.

Meanwhile, sources in Afghanistan’s Taliban-run defence ministry confirmed to WION the killing of at least three soldiers while reporting injuries to nine others. 

Also read: One Pakistani, Three Taliban soldiers dead amid clashes along border

Sources in Pakistan said Saturday (Dec 28) that one Pak Army soldier had died in the gunfight, whereas three soldiers sustained injuries.

Escalation: A timeline

The fresh escalation comes after Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities earlier this week accused Pakistan of killing 46 people, mainly women and children, in air strikes near the border. Sources in Pakistan said the strikes were launched targeting “terrorist hideouts”; however, Islamabad has not confirmed it carried out the cross-border attack.

Tensions between the two nations have been on the rise since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021. The Pakistani military had earlier carried out strikes in Afghanistan’s border areas in March this year, killing eight civilians, as claimed by Taliban authorities.