Islamabad, 19 October 2025 (dpa/MIA) – Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after lengthy talks in Qatar following the worst border clashes in decades between the two neighbours.

“A ceasefire agreement between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been finalized. The series of terrorism attacks from Afghanistan on Pakistan's soil will be stopped immediately,” Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on X early Sunday morning.

The minister said that both “neighbouring countries will respect each other's territory,” and that they would meet again on October 25 in Istanbul to discuss “detailed matters.”

Afghanistan’s Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also confirmed the development, saying Kabul will not “support groups carrying out attacks against the Government of Pakistan.”

Both Afghanistan and Pakistan expressed their gratitude to brotherly Muslim countries Qatar and Turkey for their mediation efforts.

Former allies Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban have turned against each other since the militia took over Kabul in 2021 and violence has since surged in Pakistan.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated since Pakistani airstrikes targeted Kabul on October 9, followed by further strikes on a market in Paktika. 

Afghan forces retaliated with attacks along the Durand Line, the disputed Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Grounds troops from both sides used artillery and heavy arms to target each other in clashes before the ceasefire was agreed with the mediation of Qatar.

Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban, a group different from their Afghan counterparts, that was fighting for Islamic rule in Pakistan. Afghanistan denies the charge. 

Photo: MIA archive