A 48-hour ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan expired on the evening of Friday, October 17—leaving the region on edge. Officials on both sides remained silent on the passing of the deadline. The truce, which began on October 15th paused nearly a week of bloody border clashes that killed dozens of troops and civilians on both sides.
The violence escalated dramatically from Saturday, days after explosions rocked the Afghan capital, Kabul, just as the Taliban’s foreign minister began an unprecedented visit to India, Pakistan’s longtime rival.
Security issues are at the heart of the tensions, with Pakistan accusing Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups led by the Tehreek–e–Taliban Pakistan (TTP)–—the Pakistani Taliban–—on its soil, a claim Kabul denies.
Shafqat Ali Khan, spokesperson of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said that
Pakistan expects concrete and verifiable actions against these terrorist elements by the Taliban regime.
Just before the truce ended, seven Pakistani paramilitary troops were killed in a suicide bombing and gun attack at a military camp in the North Waziristan district that borders Afghanistan.
