Afghanistan and Pakistan have reached an immediate ceasefire agreement following high-stakes negotiations held in Doha, mediated by Qatar and Türkiye.
The accord comes after a week of deadly clashes along the disputed border that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded — the worst fighting between the two neighbors since the Taliban took control of Kabul in 2021.
According to a statement released early Sunday by Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both countries agreed not only to a ceasefire but also to establish joint mechanisms aimed at consolidating lasting peace and stability between them.
Officials in Doha say follow-up meetings will be held in the coming days to ensure that the truce holds and that both sides adhere to the agreement in a “reliable and sustainable manner.”
Saturday’s peace talks in the Qatari capital brought together top defense officials from both nations — Afghanistan’s Defense Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob, and Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office said discussions focused on measures to end what it described as cross-border terrorism and to restore calm along the 2,600-kilometer frontier.
The talks were urgently called after Pakistani airstrikes and cross-border shelling intensified, following Islamabad’s accusation that militants were launching attacks from Afghan soil. Kabul, however, denies harboring such groups and accuses Pakistan of spreading misinformation while sheltering fighters linked to ISIL, or ISIS.
Tensions escalated further on Friday, when a suicide bombing near the border killed seven Pakistani soldiers and injured 13 others.
In a statement on Saturday, Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, called on Afghanistan’s leadership to “rein in the proxies” operating from within its borders and to prevent further attacks on Pakistani territory.
Both governments now say the ceasefire agreement marks a turning point — though analysts caution that the success of this peace deal will depend on the willingness of both sides to enforce it on the ground.
For now, a fragile calm has returned to the frontier — but questions remain about whether this truce can hold.
Reporting by Carl Montel.
