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Rs 20.00 | Vol XVI No 99 | 8 Pages Lahore Edition
Pak-afghan agree temPorary ceasefire after kabul, kandahar ‘Precision strikes’
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FO SPOKESPERSON CONFIRMS 48-HOUR CEASEFIRE ANNOUNCED WITH AFGHANISTAN FROM 6PM WEDNESDAY, AGREED AT TALIBAN’S REQUEST
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ISLAMABAD
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
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BOTH SIDES VOW TO PURSUE A ‘CONSTRUCTIVE, POSITIVE SOLUTION’ TO END THE ESCALATING BORDER HOSTILITIES
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 statedesignated term for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
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 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 alHindustan” were targeted 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.)
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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 PakistanAfghanistan 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
Pakistan repels afghan taliban attack along balochistan border; 15–20 killed RAWALPINDI
staff report
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