As the two countries observe a 48-hour ceasefire ending tonight, Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif has said that the ball is in Afghanistan’s court for a permanent end to cross-border hostilities.
Addressing a federal cabinet meeting on Pak-Afghan border tensions, the premier said that Pakistan remains ready to hold talks with the Taliban regime on reasonable terms, adding that the recent cross-border aggression from Afghan side was at India’s behest.
Taliban forces, along with India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had earlier this week resorted to an unprovoked attack on Pakistan, prompting a strong response from Islamabad. At least 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants were killed in said clashes while 23 Pakistani soldiers embraced martyrdom.
The attacks that came as Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was on an official visit to India, ended with the ceasefire agreed to at the request of Afghan Taliban on the evening of Oct 15.
“Unfortunately, despite all efforts, [Taliban regime in] Afghanistan did not prioritise peace and adopted the path of aggression,” reports quoted the premier as saying during Thursday’s meeting.
Highlighting the recent spike in terror incidents in the country, he said Pakistan had to launch a full-scale retaliatory action as patience had run out amid Afghan Taliban regime’s inaction over Islamabad’s concerns.
Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) has called on the warring forces to permanently end hostilities.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) welcomed the announcement of a ceasefire and called on all parties “to bring a lasting end to hostilities to protect civilians and prevent further loss of life”.
It also urged both Pakistan and Afghanistan to comply with their obligations under international law “to prevent” more civilian casualties.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, China and Russia all called for de-escalation.
Qatar expressed “concern” over “the potential repercussions for the security and stability of the region” in a statement to X. Saudi Arabia, which recently signed a defence pact with Pakistan, also called for “restraint and dialogue”.
The fighting also drew the attention of United States (US) President Donald Trump, who offered to broker peace. “I hear there’s a war now going on between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“I’m good at solving wars, I’m good at making peace,” he added.