Pakistan declares 48-hour ceasefire on request from Afghan Taliban regime

Islamabad (Web Desk): Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have reached an understanding to observe a temporary 48-hour ceasefire following a request from Kabul’s Taliban administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said on Wednesday.

“At the request of the Afghan Taliban regime, and with mutual consent, Pakistan and the Taliban have agreed to a temporary ceasefire for 48 hours, effective from 6pm this evening,” the Foreign Office (FO) stated.

It added that during this time, both sides would hold “constructive dialogue aimed at finding a positive and sustainable resolution” to the matter.

The development comes following a series of precision strikes by the Pakistan Army on significant Taliban strongholds located in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, according to security officials.

The security sources disclosed that the targeted attacks successfully destroyed the Taliban’s “Battalion No 4 and Border Brigade No 6,” eliminating several Afghan and foreign fighters in the process.

Meanwhile, militants attempted to cross into Pakistan through the Turkmenzai border point in Mohmand district with the intent to carry out terrorist assaults within the country, the sources reported.

They said the infiltration attempt was foiled as Pakistani forces responded swiftly and forcefully, disrupting the plan and compelling the Afghan Taliban to depend on members of “Fitna al-Khawarij” to continue their operations.

A large group of fighters that tried to move across the border was “completely neutralised” in Mohmand, where nearly 30 militants were killed, according to the sources.

They reiterated that the Pakistan Army retains the capability to respond decisively to any form of external hostility and that the operation remains active, with further reports of militant casualties emerging.

Security officials further remarked that the Pakistan Army’s “strong and decisive retaliatory strikes have left the Afghan Taliban in a state of panic.”

They added that after suffering heavy human and material losses, “the defeated Taliban have been forced to resort to false propaganda to conceal their failures.”