Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to temporary ceasefire

(Patria) - Pakistan and Afghanistan yesterday announced a temporary ceasefire in an escalating conflict, two days after Kabul accused Islamabad of a deadly airstrike on an addiction rehabilitation hospital in the Afghan capital, which they claim killed hundreds of people.

Both sides announced a halt to fighting ahead of Eid al-Fitr, at the request of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar, who are attempting to mediate an end to hostilities, reports AP News.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar clarified that the suspension of attacks on Afghanistan would take effect on Wednesday at midnight and last until Monday at midnight.

"Pakistan is making this gesture in good faith and in accordance with Islamic norms," Tarar said in a statement.

However, he added: "In case of any cross-border attack, drone attack, or terrorist incident within Pakistan, operations will immediately resume with renewed intensity."

Afghan government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid did not specify a timeframe for the ceasefire on the Afghan side but said his country would "respond bravely to any aggression in case of a threat."

The decision for a truce came shortly after Afghan authorities in Kabul held a collective funeral prayer for some of the victims killed in Monday's attack.

Health Ministry spokesman Sharafat Zaman said more than 50 people whose remains could not be identified were buried at a cemetery in Kabul.

Excavators dug graves as ambulances in a convoy brought simple wooden coffins. In some of them, Zaman said, were the remains of multiple individuals.

The attack occurred on Monday around 9 p.m. at the 2,000-bed Omid hospital.

Taliban authorities had renamed and expanded the existing facility about a year ago as part of efforts to combat drug addiction in the country.

Pakistan has rejected Afghanistan's accusations of targeting the addiction treatment hospital, claiming its strikes in Kabul and eastern Afghanistan on Monday were aimed at military targets.

They dismissed claims of more than 400 killed as propaganda.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Minister Tarar said Pakistan "exclusively targeted terrorist infrastructure."

"Our target was exclusively the Afghan Taliban regime, their military facilities, terrorist infrastructure, and all structures that support or promote terrorists," Tarar said.

He stated that Pakistan's strikes "were very precise and carried out on an ammunition depot in Kabul, after which we saw smoke and flames in the atmosphere."

"The loss of life that followed, the number of which he did not specify, occurred 'because there was ammunition, technical equipment, and weapons in that depot,'" he added.

Official Kabul, on the other hand, condemned the attack. Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid accused Pakistan of "targeting hospitals and civilian locations to sow fear," adding that the killed were "innocent civilians and addicts."

The clashes, the most severe between the two neighbors, began in late February after Afghanistan launched cross-border attacks in response to Pakistani airstrikes. This broke a ceasefire reached in October with Qatar's mediation.

Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring militants who carry out attacks inside Pakistan, particularly the Pakistani Taliban. That group is separate from the Afghan Taliban, who took power in Afghanistan in 2021, but is closely related to them. Kabul denies these accusations.

Last month, Pakistan announced it was in an "open war" with Afghanistan. The conflict has worried the international community, especially as other militant organizations, including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, remain present in the region.