A major breakthrough has been achieved in ending the fierce border conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan that has been going on for the past week. The Qatari Foreign Ministry announced early on Sunday (October 19) that the two countries have agreed on an immediate ceasefire in talks held under the mediation of Turkey in the Qatari capital Doha. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds injured in this conflict so far.
According to the information received, Qatar has said that the two sides have also agreed to hold more meetings in the coming days to ensure that the ceasefire remains permanent and can be properly implemented. This latest conflict is the most serious clash between the two neighboring countries since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.
Afghan officials said the Kabul delegation was led by Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, while Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif joined the talks with Taliban representatives.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the main objective of the talks was to stop cross-border terrorism from Afghanistan into Pakistan and restore peace on the Pak-Afghan border. Islamabad had demanded from Kabul to stop terrorists from carrying out attacks in Pakistan from across the border, after which the violence broke out.
On the other hand, the Taliban denies harboring terrorists and has accused Pakistan of spreading disinformation and supporting groups affiliated with the Islamic State to destabilize Afghanistan. However, Pakistan has rejected these allegations.
Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, referring to the recent suicide attack, said that the Afghan government should control the groups that attack in Pakistan using Afghan soil.
Afghanistan had alleged that Pakistan had launched air strikes targeting civilians just hours after the ceasefire was extended on Friday. However, our troops were ordered not to retaliate in order to continue the talks. The attacks killed three Afghan players in Paktika province, prompting Afghanistan to withdraw from a T-20 cricket series to be held in Pakistan.
However, Pakistan’s Information Minister Ataullah Tarar claimed that the attacks targeted terrorist camps and killed more than 100 terrorists. He dismissed the claims of civilian deaths.
