Kandahar | Pakistan

• 48-hour ‘Qatar-brokered’ truce initiated at Afghan Taliban’s request • Both sides pledge to seek resolution through dialogue • Khawaja Asif says ceasefire may not hold as Taliban have become ‘proxy for Delhi’ • Latest round of clashes erupted after Afghan fighters target Chaman border posts overnight • Pakistan confirms retaliatory strikes on militant camps in Kandahar city, Spin Boldak • Two explosions rock Afghan capital; TTP leadership targeted in ‘precision strikes’, state-run PTV reports ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghan­istan on Wednesday agreed to a temporary ceasefire after a fresh round of deadly cross-border clashes that threatened to escalate into a wider conflict. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said the ceasefire, implemented at the Taliban’s request and with mutual consent, took effect at 6pm local time and would last for 48 hours. “During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts to find a positive resolution to this complex but solvable issue through constructive dialogue,” the Foreign Office...

The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday announced that a temporary ceasefire has been agreed with Afghanistan for the next 48 hours amid recent border hostilities between the two countries. “A temporary ceasefire has been decided between the Pakistani government and the Afghan Taliban regime, with the mutual consent of both parties, for the next 48 hours from 6pm today, at the request of the Taliban.” “During this period, both sides will make sincere efforts to find a positive solution to this complex but solvable issue through constructive dialogue,” the FO said. Taliban regime spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid said on X that Afghan forces were instructed to respect the ceasefire, “unless any aggression takes place”. Strikes on Kabul, Kandahar Earlier, state broadcaster PTV News reported that the Pakistan armed forces conducted “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and capital Kabul. A statement uploaded on X, quoting security sources, said: “Pakistan Army’s retaliatory action against Afghan Talib...