Saudi Arabia joined other nations on Monday in welcoming the ceasefire agreed between Pakistan and Afghanistan after days of border hostilities, affirming its support for efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability between the two countries.
The ceasefire was agreed early yesterday morning during talks between Afghan and Pakistani delegations in Doha with the mediation of Qatar and Turkiye. A next round of negotiations between the two sides is scheduled to be held in Istanbul on October 25.
A statement posted on the Saudi foreign ministry’s X account said it “expresses the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s welcome of the signing by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and Afghanistan of an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries, during the round of negotiations held in Doha.”
“The kingdom affirms its support for all regional and international efforts aimed at promoting peace and stability, and its continued commitment to ensuring security that achieves stability and prosperity for the brotherly peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“This kingdom hopes that this positive step will lead to an end to tensions on the border between the two countries,” the statement said.
Saudi Arabia — which signed a defence pact with Pakistan last month under which any aggression against one state will be considered an attack on both — also appreciated the “diplomatic efforts and constructive role” of Turkiye and Qatar in mediating the ceasefire between Islamabad and Kabul.
Yesterday, Turkiye’s, Oman’s and Qatar’s foreign ministries had also issued statements welcoming the ceasefire.
China, Russia welcome Pak-Afghan ceasefire
Meanwhile, in separate statements issued on Monday, China and Russia welcomed the ceasefire agreement reached between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“China welcomes the immediate ceasefire agreed between Pakistan and Afghanistan and commends the peace effort of countries who contributed to the ceasefire,” the Chinese foreign ministry said.
China vowed to “continue playing a constructive role for the improvement and development of Pakistan-Afghanistan relations”.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, welcomed the agreement as well, calling on both countries to “expand their cooperation, including in countering terrorism,“ Anadolu Agency reported.
Islamabad and Kabul’s intention to engage in dialogue and resolve their disagreements through diplomatic means “forms the basis for maintaining peace between the two countries, which are friendly to us, and serves as an important factor in ensuring regional security,“ the Turkish news agency quoted her as saying.
Border clashes
The skirmishes on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan began on the night of October 11, when Afghan forces launched an attack on Pakistani border posts. According to the media affairs wing of the Pakistani military, its 23 troops were martyred in the clashes that continued into Oct 12 while over 200 Taliban and affiliated militants were killed.
Afghanistan claimed it carried out the attack as a “retaliatory” measure, accusing Islamabad of conducting air strikes in its territory last Thursday — a charge Islamabad has neither confirmed nor denied.
Later, clashes again broke out on the night of Oct14 along the border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kurram sector. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said
the Afghan Taliban and Fitna-al-Khawarij — the term state has designated for the banned terror outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — had tried to attack Pakistani border posts in the area but the attacks were effectively repulsed.
Subsequently on Oct 15, the ISPR said security forces had repulsed another attack by the Afghan Taliban along the Balochistan border, killing around 15 to 20 Afghan Taliban.
However, the Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid alleged earlier in the day that Afghan forces were “forced to retaliate” after attacks by Pakistani forces in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Later in the day, state media reported citing security sources that Pakistan had carried out precision strikes in Afghan capital Kabul and the province of Kandahar, targeting terrorists’ hideouts and leadership.
This was a little before a 48-hour ceasefire was announced between the two sides. media reported that it was the second ceasefire between the neighbours since hostilities erupted on Oct 11, though the first truce was not publicly announced. It quoted diplomatic insiders as saying that both Saudi Arabia and Qatar had intervened on that occasion to defuse tensions.
The ceasefire was extended on October 17.
While delegations from Pakistan and Afghanistan were expected to meet in Doha for talks to end border hostilities, Pakistan again targeted terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan on Oct 17, according to a media report.
It said incidents were reported from the Angoor Adda region and across Afghanistan’s Urgun and Barmal districts of Paktika province, as security sources claimed that precision strikes were conducted against hideouts of the outlawed Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, reportedly killing dozens of fighters.
This development followed a gun-and-bomb attack targeting a military installation in North Waziristan.
The border clashes had erupted against the backdrop of Pakistan suffering multiple casualties among security forces in intelligence-based operations against terrorists.
Pakistan has been witnessing an uptick in terrorist activities, mainly in KP and Balochistan, since the TTP broke a ceasefire deal with the government and vowed to escalate attacks against the security forces, the police, and other law enforcement agencies’ personnel.
Since the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in 2021, Islamabad had hoped for cooperation on counterterrorism, particularly against TTP. Instead, the Taliban’s refusal to rein in the TTP has become the core irritant.
Islamabad has repeatedly called on Kabul to bar terrorist groups from using its territory to attack Pakistan, however, Afghanistan denies the allegations.
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