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Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to immediate ceasefire after talks mediated by Qatar and Turkiye in Doha, Qatar’s foreign ministry said. The ceasefire was reached after more than a week of deadly clashes that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds on both sides.

Delegations led by the defense ministers of the two countries held high-level talks in Doha to restore calm along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and end one of deadliest crosss-border attacks between the two countries in several years.

Islamabad’s team was led by Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, accompanied by intelligence chief General Asim Malik. Kabul delegation was led by interim Defense Minister Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, and intelligence chief Mullah Abdul Haq Wasiq. Qatari officials and Turkiye’s Director of the National Intelligence Organisation Ibrahim Kalin were also present as mediators.

Pakistan’s defense minister confirmed that a ceasefire agreement with Afghanistan has been finalized, with both sides pledging to halt cross-border attacks and respect each other’s territorial sovereignty.

“As part of ongoing diplomatic efforts, delegations from both countries are scheduled to meet again in Istanbul on October 25 to discuss further steps toward lasting peace and cooperation,” he said.

The two neighbors agreed to extend an initial 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday to cover the duration of the ceasefire talks in Doha, however, attacks continued. The clashes have killed dozens of fighters and civilians on each side. Pakistan and Afghanistan share roughly 2,600-kilometer long border.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid urged his forces to refrain from new movements to preserve the dignity of the ceasefire. While Afghanistan “reserves the right to respond to these violations, in order to maintain the dignity and integrity of its negotiating team, its forces have been instructed to refrain from undertaking new military operations at this time,” Mujahid said.

پاکستان اور افغانستان کے مابین سیز فائر کا معاہدہ طے پاگیا۔ پاکستان کی سرزمین پہ افغانستان سے دھشت گردی کا سلسلہ فی الفور بند ھوگا۔ دونوں ھمسایہ ملک ایک دوسرے کی سرزمین کا احترام کریں گے الحمدوللہ
25اکتوبر کو استنبول میں دوبارہ وفود میں ملاقات ھو گی۔ اور تفصیلی معاملات بات ھوگی۔… pic.twitter.com/OKNbRuXEPU

— Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) October 18, 2025

Next meeting in Istanbul

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that delegations will meet again in Istanbul on October 25 to continue talks aimed at lasting peace. Qatar welcomed the agreement, expressing hope it would ease long-standing tensions and strengthen ties between the two nations.

The two sides sides agreed to establish mechanisms for lasting peace and stability, and hold follow-up talks in the coming days to ensure the sustainability of the truce between the “two brotherly countries”, the Qatari statement said.

Pakistan-Afghanistan clashes

The recent escalation between Islamabad and Kabul was triggered by a string of militant attacks inside Pakistan, including a suicide strike that killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded thirteen, which Islamabad says were orchestrated from Afghan territory by groups linked to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant networks. Pakistan responded with cross-border airstrikes targeting what it described as “verified (militant) camps” in eastern Afghanistan. Kabul has condemned the strikes, saying they hit civilian areas.

The two sides have offered sharply different casualty counts. Pakistan’s military claimed that more than 200 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and reported the deaths of 23 Pakistani soldiers in the clashes.

Afghanistan has reported far lower military losses for its forces and said at least 10 civilians were killed in the Paktika strikes, including local cricketers, prompting the Afghanistan Cricket Board to withdraw from a scheduled tournament in Pakistan. Independent verification on the ground has been limited.

Accusations of external interference

Islamabad has repeatedly accused Kabul of allowing militant sanctuaries and has singled out India as backing elements hostile to Pakistan. Defense Minister Asif said Kabul was acting as “a proxy of India” and warned that “Wherever the source of terrorism is, it will have to pay a heavy price.”

The Taliban deny providing a haven to militants targeting Pakistan and have accused Pakistani forces of spreading misinformation and of sheltering militants that threaten Afghanistan’s stability. New Delhi has not publicly responded to Islamabad’s recent accusations.

Pakistan’s foreign office said the Doha talks “will focus on immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism against Pakistan emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the Pak-Afghan border.”

The Pakistani side stressed that Islamabad “does not seek escalation but urges the Afghan Taliban authorities to honor their commitments to the international community and address Pakistan’s legitimate security concerns by taking verifiable action against terrorist entities.” Kabul, through spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, reiterated a commitment to a peaceful resolution while condemning what it called Pakistani aggression in recent strikes.

Fragile ceasefire and risk of renewed fighting

The two sides extended a 48-hour truce to enable negotiations in Doha, yet airstrikes reported by Kabul on the eve of the talks underscore how fragile such pauses remain. Afghan officials said their forces were directed to “refrain from undertaking new military operations at this time,” even as Kabul reserved the right to respond to violations.

Military leaders on both sides have used stark language. Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir urged Afghan authorities to “rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan and are using Afghan soil to perpetrate heinous attacks inside Pakistan,” while Taliban spokesmen warned they will defend Afghan soil if struck.

Beyond military losses, civilians have borne a heavy toll. Reports of civilian deaths in Paktika, the temporary closure of border crossings, and Afghanistan’s withdrawal from Pakistan-hosted sporting events have amplified public outrage and diplomatic strain. Regional powers and Gulf states, including Qatar, which is mediating the talks, have called for calm and de-escalation, warning the clashes risk wider instability in a region where ISIS and al-Qaeda affiliates have sought to regain strength.

Key points discussed

Analysts expect the talks to center on several narrow but critical items: verifiable mechanisms for preventing militant cross-border movement, procedures for intelligence sharing and joint investigations, confidence-building steps such as monitored ceasefires or temporary troop withdrawals in contested sectors, and third-party guarantees or monitoring by Qatar or other mediators to ensure compliance.

Islamabad will press for concrete, verifiable action against groups it names as threats; Kabul will push back on what it sees as violations of Afghan sovereignty and on broad accusations that conflate disparate anti-state groups.

Any durable settlement faces significant hurdles. The Durand Line remains a highly contested and politically sensitive border, and deep mutual distrust persists after years of reciprocal accusations. Militant groups are often transnational, loosely affiliated, and able to exploit rugged border terrain.

Even if Doha yields short-term confidence measures, long-term stability will require sustained verification mechanisms, political will from Kabul’s interim administration and Pakistan’s security establishment, and diplomatic support from regional partners.

Pakistan says it seeks no escalation, and the Taliban say they are committed to talks even as they reserve defensive rights. The coming days in Doha will likely determine whether this pause becomes a pathway to longer-term de-escalation or merely another temporary lull in a cycle of violence.