Pakistan, Afghanistan agree to ceasefire after huge casualties; border crossings remain closed

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday after an air strike and ground fighting ramped up tensions between the South Asian neighbours, leaving more than a dozen civilians dead and 100 wounded.

Wednesday’s fighting along the volatile, contested frontier shattered a fragile peace after dozens were killed in weekend clashes, the worst between the two Islamic countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

A Pakistani foreign ministry statement said the two countries would implement a “temporary ceasefire” for 48 hours starting 1300 GMT on Wednesday, adding the truce was requested by Kabul.

Afghan Taliban administration spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said the ceasefire was due to the “insistence of the Pakistani side.”

Kabul had directed its forces to observe the ceasefire provided the other side does not commit aggression, he said.

With both countries on edge, plumes of black smoke were seen rising above Kabul after the two blasts in the Afghan capital on Wednesday evening, AFP reporters said.

Mujahid said an oil tanker and a generator had exploded, sparking fires, although he did not explicitly link the blasts to the clashes with Pakistan. However, a Pakistani security source told AFP that Islamabad had carried out “precision strikes” in the Afghan capital.

Ambulances raced through Kabul and shattered glass from damaged buildings littered the streets, AFP saw. Taliban forces also cordoned off some city streets.

Taliban spokesman Mujahid said in an earlier statement that 100 civilians were also wounded around Spin Boldak, adding that calm had returned after Pakistani soldiers were killed and weapons seized. The Pakistan military said these were “outrageous and blatant lies.”

Pakistan did not give a toll for its losses in the latest clashes but said last week 23 of its troops had been killed in the opening skirmishes.

Earlier on Wednesday, before the ceasefire announcement, 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.

Dejan Panic, Emergency NGO’s country director in Afghanistan, said the victims had “shrapnel wounds, blunt force trauma and burns.” In a statement, he said 10 were in critical condition.

It was unclear what caused the blasts. There was an oil tanker explosion, confirmed by the Taliban. And two Pakistani security officials said their army had hit militant hideouts. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

Trucks loaded with supplies park along a road leading to the Torkham, after Pakistan closed border crossings with Afghanistan, following exchanges of fire on Wednesday. AFP

Pakistani forces said they had repelled “unprovoked” assaults, but denied targeting civilians after the Taliban government said more than a dozen were killed and over 100 others wounded when Pakistan targeted sites in a border area of Afghanistan’s southern Kandahar province.

Pakistan’s army also targeted militant hideouts in the Afghan capital, two Pakistani security officials said on Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.

BORDER CROSSINGS REMAIN CLOSED: People in the Pakistani border town of Chaman reported mortars falling near villages and some families were seen evacuating early on Wednesday.

In Chaman on the Pakistani side of the border, one resident described the pre-dawn clashes as “total chaos.” “Our children and women were terrified and began screaming,” Raaz Muhammad, 51, told AFP by phone.

“This fighting has been going on since early (Wednesday) morning, and people who live close to the border are leaving the area,” said Chaman resident Najibullah Khan, who urged the two countries to end the fighting to prevent further shelling.

“After the Sept.11 attacks, Pakistan’s tribal belt descended into chaos as the Afghan Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other groups operated from both sides of the border for attacks on Nato forces and Pakistani security forces,” said Abdullah Khan, a defense analyst and managing director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies. As of Wednesday, key border crossings remain closed.

Pakistani security officials said the air strike had targeted a brigade of Afghan Taliban troops and that dozens were killed, without corroborating the claim.

Enayatullah Khowarazmi, Afghanistan’s defence ministry spokesperson, said residential areas of Spin Boldak were hit.

Each side accused the other of launching ground attacks.

Sadiq, a resident of Spin Boldak who gave only his first name, said fighting broke out at around 4:00 am (2330 GMT Tuesday).

“Houses were fired upon, including my cousin’s. His son and wife were killed, and four of his children were wounded,” he told AFP. All businesses in the area were closed and many residents have fled, an AFP correspondent reported.

Agencies