MT Desk: Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to temporary ceasefire after airstrikes and ground fighting left more than dozen civilians dead amid shocking escalation as Afghan land continues to harbor TTP and other deadly terror organisations.

The clashes shattered fragile peace after weekend violence that killed dozens, marking deadliest confrontation between two neighbors since Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry announced that both countries would observe a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday. “During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts, through constructive dialogue, to find a positive solution to this complex yet resolvable issue,” the statement said, noting that the truce came at the request of the Afghan Taliban government.
Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid confirmed the ceasefire. He instructed all Taliban forces to honor the truce, provided Pakistan does not commit any acts of aggression.
Earlier today, Pakistan carried out deep strikesin Kandahar and Kabul provinces, which came after dozens of troops and civilians had already been killed in fresh border skirmishes. Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban, and the capital city Kabul became the center of the deadly confrontations.
The recent surge in tensions began when Pakistan demanded that the Taliban administration tackle militant groups operating from Afghan territory that have launched attacks inside Pakistan. Taliban rejected these claims, accusing the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation, provoking border tensions, and sheltering Islamic State-linked militants to undermine Afghanistan’s stability and sovereignty. Pakistan denied these allegations, pointing instead to attacks carried out by ISIS-K, the regional branch of the Islamic State active in both countries.
The temporary ceasefire provides brief window for diplomacy but the fragile peace hangs by a thread, and experts warn that any misstep could reignite a full-scale conflict between the two neighbors.