Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban administration have agreed to a temporary ceasefire for 48 hours starting at 1300 GMT on Wednesday, Islamabad said, after fresh fighting erupted between the neighbours.
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan will make sincere efforts, through dialogue, to find a positive solution to the complex yet resolvable issue, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Just before the truce was announced, Pakistan carried out an air strike in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, Afghan and Pakistani officials said.
A Pakistani security official also told AFP that Islamabad had also carried out 'precision strikes' in Kabul.
Two explosions were heard in central Kabul.
Taliban government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said an oil tanker and a generator had exploded, sparking fires in the Afghan capital. Ambulances were moving through the streets, AFP reported, while Taliban forces also cordoned off the city centre.
Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising into the sky, and the ground was littered with shattered glass from buildings damaged by the explosions.
Around 20 Taliban fighters were killed on early on Wednesday in clashes with Pakistani forces on the southwest border, Pakistan's military said in a statement, as border skirmishes between the neighbours enter a second week.
"Afghan Taliban resorted to a cowardly attack at four locations. While repulsing the attack, 15-20 Afghan Taliban have been killed and many injured. The situation is still developing," the military said in a statement.
Thirty Taliban fighters and terrorists, associated with the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were also "suspected" to have been killed in separate overnight clashes on the northwest border, Pakistani officials said.
Afghanistan’s Taliban, on the other hand, claimed on Wednesday that more than 12 civilians were killed on its side, rupturing a fragile peace that had briefly taken hold after clashes between the countries over the weekend killed dozens.
There were also reports that at least six Pakistani paramilitary soldiers were killed in a clash with TTP terrorists near the Afghan border.
Once allies, the recent friction between the South Asian nations erupted after Islamabad demanded that the Afghan Taliban administration act against terrorists who have stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operate from havens in Afghanistan.
The Taliban denies the presence of TTP terrorists in Afghanistan.
"Early this morning, Pakistani forces launched attacks...more than 12 civilians were martyred and over 100 others were wounded," Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.
Pakistani officials blamed the Taliban for the clashes and said four civilians were wounded on their side of the border.
"Taliban forces attacked a Pakistani post near Chaman (district)," Habib Ullah Bangulzai, the regional administrator in Pakistan's Chaman district, told Reuters.
The worst
The fighting continued for about five hours in the early hours of the day, Bangulzai said, adding that Pakistani forces had "repulsed" the attack.
Although clashes regularly break out between the countries' security forces along their 2,600 km (1,600-mile) border, last week's fighting was their worst since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.
The neighbours have closed several crossings along their border in its aftermath, bringing trade to a halt and leaving scores of loaded goods vehicles stranded on both sides.
Last week's clashes drew international concern, with China asking both countries to protect Chinese citizens and investments, Russia urging restraint, and US President Donald Trump saying he could help end the conflict.
The tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan this month have coincided with Afghan Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's visit to India, Pakistan's arch-rival.
India and Afghanistan, during Muttaqi's visit, decided to upgrade ties, with New Delhi saying it would reopen its embassy in Kabul, and the Afghan Taliban also announcing it would send its diplomats to India.
