AFGHANISTAN - A ceasefire along the frontier between Afghanistan and Pakistan was holding on Thursday, officials on both sides said, after dozens of troops and civilians were killed in cross-border clashes.
In Spin Boldak, a flashpoint on the Afghan side, an AFP journalist saw shops reopening and residents returning to homes they had fled during the fighting. The 48-hour truce was aimed at allowing time to "find a positive solution... through constructive dialogue", according to Islamabad. Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday evening that whether the temporary truce would be extended now depended on Kabul's response. "If in 48 hours they want to resolve the issues and address our genuine demands, then we are ready for them," Sharif told his cabinet, reiterating that Pakistani Taliban militants should be eliminated and that Afghan territory not be used to plot attacks. Pakistan is facing a resurgence of attacks against its security forces on its western border with Afghanistan, led by the Pakistani Taliban and its affiliates. (Bssnews)
