A ceasefire along the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan was holding yesterday, officials on both sides said, after dozens of troops and civilians were killed in cross-border clashes.
In Spin Boldak, a focal point of clashes on the Afghan side, a journalist saw shops reopening and residents returning to homes they had fled during the fighting.
The 48-hour ceasefire was aimed at allowing time to “find a positive solution ... through constructive dialogue,” Islamabad said.
Photo: EPA
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.
About 20 civilians were killed and nearly 170 wounded on Wednesday, said Mohammad Haqmal, spokesman for Spin Boldak’s information department.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported at least 18 civilians killed and more than 350 wounded in the violence.
“Our houses were bombed, a child was wounded. I heard the plane myself,” said Abdul Zahir, a 46-year-old resident. “It’s terrifying.”
Residents and Taliban officials attended the funeral of seven members of the same family in Spin Boldak, a journalist saw.
Islamabad has accused Kabul of offering safe haven to militants who plan assaults from Afghan soil — a charge the Taliban government denies.
Pakistani officials on the northern and southern border with Afghanistan yesterday told reporters that “no violence was reported overnight and the ceasefire remains in effect.”
“Additional paramilitary troops have been deployed to counter potential ... militant activity that could jeopardize the ceasefire,” a senior security official in Peshawar said.
Shortly before the truce was announced, blasts were reported in Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, and the southern province of Kandahar.
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