Afghanistan, Pakistan set for final round of talks
Pakistan and Afghanistan have once again agreed to an “immediate ceasefire, after a brief 48-hour truce collapsed earlier this week, Qatar announced on Saturday. The fresh truce was brokered jointly by Qatar and Turkey amid escalating cross-border violence. According to an official statement from Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, delegations from both countries met in Doha to resume negotiations following the earlier truce.
“During the negotiations, the two sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries,” the statement said.
Qatar added that both nations have also committed to holding follow-up meetings in the coming days “to ensure sustainability of the ceasefire and verify its implementation in a reliable and sustainable manner, thus contributing to achieving security and stability in both countries.”
The ceasefire announcement came shortly after at least ten people, including three Afghan cricketers, were killed in Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan territory on Saturday. The attacks targeted areas near the border, particularly Paktika province.
Pakistani security officials said the strikes were aimed at members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) near the Durand Line. The strikes reportedly came in response to an earlier assault on Pakistani paramilitary forces.
A provincial hospital official told AFP that ten civilians were killed and 12 others were injured in the attacks, including two children.
Both Islamabad and Kabul have accused each other of violating the previous 48-hour truce. Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who serves as the prime minister in the Taliban government, stated, “Afghanistan is not in favour of war.”
In a call with his Malaysian counterpart, Akhund alleged that the strikes were “initiated by the Pakistani side by violating Afghanistan’s territory.” A Taliban official also reiterated to AFP that Pakistan had bombed three locations in Paktika, breaking the ceasefire agreement.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed that three players, Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, were among those killed in the airstrikes. The players were in Paktika to participate in a local tournament.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) issued a statement mourning their deaths, describing the loss as a tragic blow to Afghanistan’s cricketing community.
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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