Afghanistan-Pakistan clashes live updates: Both countries agree to ‘immediate’ ceasefire, says Qatar

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an “immediate” ceasefire during talks in Doha, the Qatar Foreign Ministry said.

“During the negotiations, the two sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries,” Qatar said in a statement announcing the truce.

On a phone call with Malaysian Prime Minister Dato' Mohammad Anwar Ibrahim, Afghan PM Mohammad Hassan Akhund blamed Pakistan for recent border clashes.

According to posts made on X by Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, “The talks discussed bilateral relations and Pakistan's violation of Afghanistan's territory. The prime minister expressed the principled position of the Islamic Emirate that Afghanistan is not in favour of war, but that the Pakistani side initiated the war by violating Afghanistan's territory.”

Iran, a neighbour to both Afghanistan and Pakistan, has offered to help defuse tensions between both countries, AFP reported. Tehran, in a call with Afghan foreign minister, warned that the tensions “threaten to undermine the stability of the entire region”, news agency IRNA reported.

After talks in Doha began, Afghanistan Prime Minister Hassan Akhund said “the discussions are indeed underway”, according to a readout of Akhund's talks with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim posted by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X.

Both Akhund and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif have been in contact with Anwar, who seems to be acting as a mediator between the two countries.

Following the death of three Afghan cricketers due to military strikes in Paktika province, Afghanistan on Saturday withdrew from the Twenty20 international tri-series in Pakistan next month, Reuters reported.

According to Afghanistan Cricket Board, the three players had travelled to Sharana, the capital of Paktika province, to play in a friendly match and later died during the strikes after returning home to the Urgun district.

Talks between Afghanistan and Pakistan's defence ministers have begun in Doha, but no agreement has been reached so far, Ariana News reported.

The discussions come after Islamabad launched air strikes on Friday, killing at least 10, including three Afghan cricketers in Afghanistan's Paktika province, Al Jazeera earlier reported, citing AFP news agency.

Before the talks, Pakistan said that it does not seek escalation, while the Taliban government warned that Kabul "reserves the right to respond," as Islamabad initiated the conflict by "violating Afghanistan's airspace"

According to the Afghan Foreign Ministry, the talks are being led by Afghanistan's Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob and Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Asif.

The meeting, mediated by Qatar, is aimed at reducing recent border tensions and preventing further escalation.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) expressed its deep sorrow and condolences on the tragic loss of three young Afghan cricketers - Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah, and Haroon - who lost their lives in the cross-border airstrikes in Afghanistan's southeastern Paktika province.

"The BCCI stands in solidarity with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), the cricket fraternity, and the families of the departed players during this moment of profound grief and condemns this ghastly and unwarranted attack. The loss of innocent lives, particularly those of promising sportspersons, is deeply distressing and a matter of great concern," BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia said as quoted by the press release on Saturday.

The BCCI also conveyed its sympathies to the people of Afghanistan and shared in their pain and loss.

International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah on Saturday expressed his condolences at the death of three promising Afghanistan cricketers, who lost their lives in an air strike conducted in the Argun and Barmal districts of Paktika province.

According to reports, it is believed that Pakistan conducted airstrikes which have also halted the ceasefire between the two nations.

"Deeply saddened by the loss of three young Afghan cricketers, Kabeer Agha, Sibghatullah, and Haroon, whose dreams were cut short by a senseless act of violence," Shah wrote on X.

"The loss of such promising talent is a tragedy not just for Afghanistan but for the entire cricketing world. We stand in solidarity with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and all those mourning this heartbreaking loss," he added.

Afghanistan have already withdrawn from the tri-nation T20I series involving Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan and Pakistan were holding peace talks in Doha on Saturday, both sides said, after the South Asia neighbours extended a ceasefire following a week of fierce border clashes.

They are seeking to find a way forward after the clashes killed dozens and wounded hundreds in the worst violence between the two countries since the Taliban seized power in Kabul in 2021.

"As promised, negotiations with the Pakistani side will take place today in Doha," Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said, adding that the Kabul team led by Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob had arrived in Doha.

Pakistan's foreign office said Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif would lead discussions with representatives of the Afghan Taliban.

"The 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," it said.

It was not immediately clear how long the talks would last. Officials on both sides have said they could be extended from Saturday, adding senior intelligence officials from both countries were part of the talks.

Pakistani security forces on Saturday killed two terrorists belonging to the banned TTP terror outfit in an intelligence-based operation in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The operation was conducted in the Mughal Kot sector of the Bannu district, according to security forces. It specifically targeted the network of the Tariq Kachhi group of "Fitna al-Khwarij", they said.

The Pakistan government last year notified the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as "Fitna al-Khawarij", a reference to a group in earlier Islamic history which was involved in violence.

The Afghanistan cricket team paid tribute to the victims of the tragic airstrike in Paktika province, which claimed the lives of several local citizens, including three cricketers, in an attack "carried out by the Pakistani regime," ahead of their one-off Test against Zimbabwe.

During the practice session before the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, scheduled to begin on Monday in Harare, the Afghanistan team gathered together to express their deepest condolences and solidarity with the families and all the people who have been affected by the tragic airstrike.

"AfghanAtalan, during their practice session ahead of the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe, gathered together to pay tribute to the victims of the tragic attack in Paktika province and expressed their deepest condolences and solidarity with the bereaved families and all Afghans affected by this heartbreaking incident. Last night, several local citizens, including three cricketers, were martyred, and many others were injured in a tragic airstrike carried out by the Pakistani regime," Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) wrote on X.

Ahead of crucial peace talks in Doha, the Taliban government on Saturday accused Pakistan of violating Afghanistan's sovereignty and blamed Islamabad for the recent border clashes that have left several dead and injured in the region.

The Doha meeting, coming amid escalating border tensions and mutual accusations, will test whether both sides can ease the latest surge of violence and move toward a negotiated de-escalation.

In a statement, Afghanistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Acting Foreign Minister Mullah Amir Khan Muttaqi held a phone conversation with his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi, during which the two discussed regional developments, including "Pakistan's violation of Afghanistan's sovereignty."

Both governments sent their defense ministers to lead the talks, which, Pakistan said, would focus on “immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the border.”

Pakistan's delegation, led by its Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, is set to hold talks with Taliban representatives in Doha on Saturday, Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Dozens were killed and hundreds were injured in the recent violence between the two countries.

As tensions escalate between Pakistan and Afghanistan, foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev suggested that Islamabad may be deliberately stoking conflict to serve a larger geopolitical strategy.

“I think the big game Pakistan is playing is that it is intentionally creating a conflict with Afghanistan, and then taking that war on a silver platter to President Donald Trump and inviting him to broker peace and get him another victory as a peace president of the world. In the process, Pakistan wants to get closer to the US and ask for more favours,” he said.

A high-level delegation from Afghanistan arrived in Doha on Saturday for peace talks with Pakistan, an Afghan government spokesperson said.

"As promised, negotiations with the Pakistani side will take place today in Doha," Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement, adding that the Kabul team was led by Defence Minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob.

A Pakistani delegation was already in the Qatari capital on Friday for the talks.

Even as Pakistan and Afghanistan gear up to meet in Doha on Saturday to broker a peace after days of fighting and air strikes, the Taliban Government said that Afghanistan reserves the right to respond to Pakistani airstrikes on its land.

Taliban Spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that though Afghanistan is committed to peaceful resolution, the current incidents are due to acts of aggression by Pakistan.

Despite the pull out by Afghanistan, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Saturday that the three-nation T20I tournament will be held on schedule from November 17 to 29 in Lahore.

A senior PCB official said they are in talks with a few other boards to replace Afghanistan in the tri-series in which Sri Lanka is the third side.

Amid escalating hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan, US President Donald Trump claimed that the conflict between the two countries would be an “easy” one for him to solve, if he had to solve it.

Trump once again claimed to have saved millions of lives while assuring that he will have “success” in resolving the conflict between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“I like stopping people from being killed. I have saved millions and millions of lives, and I think we are going to have success with this war,” the US president said.

The two sides reportedly agreed to extend their 48-hour ceasefire until the conclusion of talks in Doha. While a Pakistani delegation had already arrived in Doha, an Afghan delegation is expected to reach Doha on Saturday, Reuters reported.

Expressing grief over the killings of the cricketers, Afghanistan has decided to withdraw from the upcoming tri-nation T20I series involving Pakistan, following the death of three Afghan cricketers in what it claimed was a "cowardly attack carried out by the Pakistani regime," the country's cricket board announced.

The series involving Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka was scheduled to be played in Rawalpindi and Lahore between November 17 and 29.

At least 10 people were killed in the fresh strikes in Afghanistan, according to Taliban officials, who claimed that Pakistan bombed three locations in Paktika province.

Three local Afghan cricketers from the Urgun District in Paktika Province were killed, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) claimed. The players had returned after a friendly match in Sharana. READ MORE

Pakistan state television announced talks in Qatar with Kabul on Saturday after Islamabad launched air strikes inside Afghanistan, killing at least 10 people and breaking a ceasefire that had brought two days of calm to the border.