Pakistan, Afghanistan extend ceasefire as Doha talks set to begin, sources say

PESHAWAR: Pakistan and Afghanistan mutually agreed on Friday to extend their 48-hour ceasefire until conclusion of planned talks in Doha, according to three Pakistani security officials and one Afghan Taliban source.

A Pakistani delegation had already arrived in Doha while an Afghan delegation was expected to reach the Qatari capital on Saturday, said the sources, who did not want to be named as they were not authorised to speak to the media.

Kabul has instructed its forces to maintain a ceasefire as long as Pakistan refrained from any attack, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told Ariana News, a Pashto language local television news channel.

A temporary truce between the neighbours on Wednesday paused days of fierce fighting that killed dozens and wounded hundreds.

Once allies, Islamabad and Kabul engaged in fierce ground fighting, and Pakistan also launched airstrikes across their contested frontier before they reached a 48-hour ceasefire that ended at 1300 GMT on Friday.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan was willing to engage in dialogue with the interim Taliban government in Kabul, provided its justified security concerns were addressed, following a deadly flare-up in cross-border violence earlier this week.

“They [the Afghan authorities] requested a ceasefire,” Sharif said. “If they genuinely want to resolve matters peacefully, we are ready. The ball is now in their court.”

He also accused the Afghan Taliban regime of providing safe haven to members of the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and fugitives from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), whom Islamabad blames for a surge in militant attacks inside the country.

The 48-hour ceasefire was aimed at allowing time to “find a positive solution… through constructive dialogue”, according to Islamabad.

Pakistan is facing a resurgence of attacks against its security forces on its western border with Afghanistan, led by the Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates.