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Pak-afghan agree temPorary ceasefire after kabul, kandahar ‘Precision strikes’: fo Thursday, 16 October, 2025 | 22 Rabius Sani, 1447
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FO SPOKESPERSON CONFIRMS 48HOUR CEASEFIRE ANNOUNCED WITH AFGHANISTAN FROM 6PM WEDNESDAY, AGREED AT TALIBAN’S REQUEST
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BOTH SIDES VOW TO PURSUE A ‘CONSTRUCTIVE, POSITIVE SOLUTION’ TO END ESCALATING BORDER HOSTILITIES
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key Taliban hideouts and battalion headquarters had been destroyed. The post on X — citing unnamed security sources — claimed that Afghan Taliban Battalion Number 4 and Border Brigade Number 6 in Kandahar were “completely destroyed” and that “dozens of foreign and Afghan operatives” were killed. A later PTV update said the “centre and leadership of Fitna al-Hindustan” were tar-
geted in Kabul. The broadcasts emphasised that strikes were “meticulously selected, isolated from civilian populations,” and that the Pakistan Army possessed “the full capability to give a befitting response to any aggression.” (PTV and security posts framed the targets as Taliban battalions and affiliated groupings designated by the state.)
PTI CHAIRMAN QUOTES PARTY’S FOUNDER OFFERING TO HELP RESOLVE PAKISTAN–AFGHANISTAN HOSTILITIES IF FREED TEMPORARILY
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Staff RepoRt
Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Wednesday that incarcerated former prime minister Imran Khan has offered to help defuse the escalating tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan if he is released on parole. Imran, imprisoned since August 2023 in a £190 million corruption case, is also facing several trials under the Anti-Terrorism Act linked to the May 9 protests. His party has repeatedly voiced concern over his health and detention conditions, as well as those of the former first lady. The offer comes amid three days of cross-border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which killed and injured several people on both sides before a temporary ceasefire was announced earlier today. The clashes erupted over ongoing disputes concerning cross-border terrorism and the repatriation of
Afghan refugees. Speaking to reporters outside Adiala Jail after meeting the PTI founder, Barrister Gohar quoted Imran as saying: “I offer you people that release me on parole, and I will solve the Afghanistan problem for you.” Earlier, Imran’s sister, Noreen Niazi told journalists that her brother was distressed by the hurried repatriation of Afghan refugees, noting that Pakistan had hosted them for decades. She quoted him as saying that it was “the job of politicians to achieve peace” and that he was ready to contribute if released on parole. “They should think—because the conditions of Pakistan have become such that three million people have left the country, multinational companies are leaving, and there is no foreign investment. He says peace comes only with political stability,” she added, though expressing doubt that authorities would consider his offer. A post from Imran’s official X account, which is not directly operated by him, echoed the same sentiment, stressing that all stakeholders—including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, federal authorities, tribal representatives, and the Afghan government—must be part of any counterterrorism policy. “The issue of terrorism cannot be solved without dialogue with the Afghan government,” the message read, urging the KP government to initiate consultations with all parties to formulate a comprehensive and long-term strategy for peace in the region.
For 5th consecutive year, Pakistani passport ranks fourth worst globally ISLAMABAD
Staff RepoRt
TALIBAN SPOKESPERSON ZABIHULLAH MUJAHID SAYS AFGHAN FORCES TOLD TO OBSERVE TRUCE ‘UNLESS ANY AGGRESSION TAKES PLACE’
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Imran offers to help defuse escalating Pak-Afghan tensions if released on parole: Barrister Gohar
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Pakistan repels afghan taliban attack along balochistan border; 15–20 killed
Staff RepoRt
HE Foreign Office on Wednesday announced a temporary 48-hour ceasefire with Afghanistan — to take effect from 6pm today — aimed at halting a fresh round of cross-border hostilities and creating space for dialogue aimed at a durable solution. The ceasefire was agreed “with the mutual consent of both parties” and, the FO said, was made at the request of the Taliban. In its statement, the FO said that during the 48-hour period both sides will make sincere efforts to find a positive solution to this complex but solvable issue through constructive dialogue. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid posted on X that Afghan forces had been instructed to respect the ceasefire “unless any aggression takes place.” The truce follows three days of intense fighting along the Pakistan-Afghanistan frontier, which saw fatalities and injuries on both sides and prompted a flurry of military and diplomatic activity. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) earlier said Pakistani forces had repulsed an attack by the Afghan Taliban along the Balochistan border, killing approximately 15 to 20 fighters in that action. The ISPR described the assault as “cowardly attacks at four locations in [the] Spin Boldak area” in the early hours of Wednesday and said the attacks were “effectively repulsed by Pakistani forces.” State broadcaster PTV News reported that Pakistan’s armed forces carried out “precision strikes” in Kandahar province and Kabul, quoting security sources who said
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The Pakistani passport has once again been ranked among the world’s weakest, placing 103rd out of 199 passports in the latest Henley Passport Index 2025, maintaining its position as the fourth worst for the fifth consecutive year. In the global ranking released on October 7, Pakistan’s travel document was tied with Yemen, granting holders visa-free access to only 31 destinations out of 227 worldwide. The only countries ranked lower were Iraq (104th), Syria (105th) and Afghanistan (106th). According to the index, Iraq’s passport allows visa-free entry to 29 countries, Syria’s to 26, and Afghanistan’s to just 24 destinations. The Henley Passport Index, which assesses 199 passports based on the number of countries accessible without a prior visa or with a visa on arrival, has consistently placed Pakistan near the bottom since 2021. Pakistan’s passport ranked 100th in 2024 and 2023, 109th in 2022 — when it offered visa-free access
to 32 countries — and 107th in 2021, with the same access level. At the other end of the spectrum, Singapore retained the top spot, offering its citizens visa-free entry to 193 destinations, followed by South Korea (190) and Japan (189). Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and Switzerland shared fourth place with visa-free access to 188 destinations, while Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, and the Netherlands ranked fifth with 187. For the first time since the index’s inception 20 years ago, the United States dropped out of the top 10, falling to 12th place, tied with Malaysia, and providing visa-free access to 180 destinations — a sharp decline from its No.1 position in 2014. The United Kingdom also recorded its lowest-ever standing, slipping from sixth to eighth place since July, despite once topping the index in 2015. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates climbed one spot to eighth, with visa-free access to 184 destinations, while China fell from 59th to 64th, its visa-free score dropping from 85 to 82.
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Security forces on Wednesday repelled coordinated attacks by the Afghan Taliban along the Balochistan border, killing between 15 and 20 assailants, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said, as cross-border hostilities between the two neighbours entered a dangerous new phase. In a statement, the military’s media wing said that Afghan Taliban fighters launched “cowardly attacks” at four locations in the Spin Boldak area in the early hours of Wednesday, but the assaults were “effectively repulsed” by Pakistani troops. The ISPR said that as troops responded, around 15–20 Afghan Taliban were killed and several others injured. “The situation is still developing. There are reports of further buildup at staging points of Fitna al-Khwarij and the Afghan Taliban,” it added, using the state-designated term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). According to the statement, the attacks were “orchestrated through divided villages in the area, with no regard for [the] civil population,” while the Afghan Taliban “destroyed the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate on their side,” displaying “their
mindset regarding mutual trade and easement rights of divided tribes.”
Heavy losses in earlier Kurram clasHes: The ISPR said the latest assault in Balochistan was separate from an earlier engagement along the Kurram border sector in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the night of October 14–15, when Afghan Taliban and “Fitna al-Khwarij” fighters attempted to storm Pakistani border posts. “These attacks were effectively repulsed, causing heavy losses to Afghan posts. Eight posts, including six tanks, were destroyed in the effective yet proportionate response of Pakistani troops. Twenty-five to thirty Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khwarij fighters were suspected to have been killed,” the ISPR said. Rejecting Kabul’s claims that Pakistan initiated the hostilities, the ISPR called such allegations “outrageous and blatant lies,” saying the Taliban regime’s propaganda could be “debunked with basic fact checks.” It reaffirmed that Pakistan’s armed forces “stand resolute and fully prepared to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan” and that “all acts of aggression will be responded to with full force.”
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