ISLAMABAD (Monitoring Desk) – In a dramatic turn of events, the Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday announced a temporary 48-hour ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan, following days of deadly cross-border hostilities that pushed both nations to the brink of open conflict.
According to the FO, the truce — effective from 6 p.m. today — was reached “with mutual consent at the request of the Afghan Taliban regime.” The statement said both sides would use this pause to seek “a constructive and positive solution” through dialogue.
The announcement came just hours after Pakistan’s armed forces launched precision strikes inside Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and capital Kabul, targeting what security officials described as “key Taliban hideouts and command centres.”
A statement carried by state broadcaster PTV News quoted security sources as saying that Battalion No. 4 and Border Brigade No. 6 of the Afghan Taliban were “completely destroyed,” with dozens of militants and foreign operatives killed.” The report further claimed that “Fitna al-Hindustan,” a term used for anti-state militant outfits operating from Afghanistan, was also hit in Kabul.
Earlier, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) confirmed that Pakistani forces had repelled coordinated Taliban attacks along the Spin Boldak border in Balochistan, killing 15–20 insurgents. The ISPR said the clashes marked the third major engagement in a week, after earlier skirmishes in Kurram and other tribal areas that left 23 Pakistani troops martyred and 29 injured.
Pakistan maintains that the attacks are being launched from Afghan soil, a charge repeatedly denied by Kabul. Defence Minister Khawaja Asif recently stated that “there are no active ties between Islamabad and Kabul — only hostility.”
With both sides armed and on edge, the 48-hour ceasefire may serve as a brief pause in an escalating border conflict that threatens to spiral further if diplomacy fails.
