Lasting truce? Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to immediate ceasefire; agreement in Qatar

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire after several days of deadly cross-border clashes, Qatar’s foreign ministry said on Sunday. The announcement came after at least 10 people were killed in Pakistani airstrikes that followed an earlier truce. “During the negotiations, the two sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to ensure lasting peace and stability between the two countries,” Qatar’s ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement. Officials from both sides met in Doha on Saturday to ease tensions. Kabul had earlier accused Islamabad of breaking a 48-hour ceasefire that briefly paused nearly a week of fighting which killed dozens of soldiers and civilians on both sides. Security officials in Pakistan said the latest strikes in Afghan border areas targeted a militant group linked to the Pakistani Taliban. The attack, they said, came in response to an assault on Pakistani paramilitary forces. Pakistan’s delegation in Doha includes defence minister Khawaja Asif and intelligence chief general Asim Malik, while the Afghan side is led by defence minister Mohammad Yaqoob, the Taliban said.Violence erupted on October 11, just days after explosions in Kabul during a rare visit by Taliban foreign minister Amir Muttaqi to India. Soon after, Taliban fighters launched attacks along the southern border with Pakistan, prompting Islamabad’s response.