Afghanistan and Pakistan, embroiled in more than a week of fighting that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds, have agreed to an immediate ceasefire, Qatar’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
The violence constitutes the deadliest crisis between the two countries in several years. The two sides agreed to establish mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability, and to hold follow-up talks in the coming days to ensure the sustainability of the truce, the Qatari statement said. Qatar and Turkey mediated the negotiations, it added.
Delegations from the two countries arrived in Doha for talks on Saturday after air strikes and days of clashes fuelled fears of a burgeoning regional war. More than a dozen people have been killed and hundreds wounded on both sides in the latest wave of fighting between the neighbours.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harbouring militants who carry out attacks in border areas, notably the Pakistani Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban. The charge is rejected by Kabul. The Pakistani Taliban is ideologically aligned with Afghanistan's ruling Taliban, but a separate entity.
On Friday, a suicide attack near the border killed seven Pakistani soldiers and wounded 13 more, security officials said. Pakistan attacked sites across the border, killing at least 10 people, including civilians, in Afghanistan, after an initial 48-hour ceasefire expired. The truce was extended for the Doha talks.
Fierce ground fighting between the one-time allies and Pakistani air strikes across their contested 2,600km frontier began after Islamabad demanded that Kabul rein in militants who had increased attacks inside Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan. The administration in Kabul denies this and has accused Pakistan of spreading misinformation.
The Afghan delegation in Doha included the defence minister and head of the national intelligence agency, the ruling Taliban said. Pakistan sent its defence minister and intelligence chief.
Pakistan said before the talks that they would focus on “immediate measures to end cross-border terrorism emanating from Afghanistan and restore peace and stability along the border”.
Regional powers including the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have called for de-escalation, as the violence threatens to destabilise a region where ISIS and Al Qaeda are among the groups trying to resurface.
Pakistan's Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif accused Kabul of acting as "a proxy of India" and "plotting" against Islamabad.
Afghanistan's cricket team withdrew from a T20 tri-series, scheduled to take place in Pakistan in November, following the escalating tensions.
Deadly border clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan – in pictures
Pakistan is grappling with surging militancy, especially in areas bordering Afghanistan. It also accuses its nuclear-armed neighbour and biggest rival India of backing armed groups, without providing any evidence.
Its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, urged Afghans to choose “mutual security over perpetual violence and progress over hardline obscurantism”.
“The Taliban must rein in the proxies who have sanctuaries in Afghanistan,” he told an audience on Saturday at the Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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Lowest Test scores
26 - New Zealand v England at Auckland, March 1955
30 - South Africa v England at Port Elizabeth, Feb 1896
30 - South Africa v England at Birmingham, June 1924
35 - South Africa v England at Cape Town, April 1899
36 - South Africa v Australia at Melbourne, Feb. 1932
36 - Australia v England at Birmingham, May 1902
36 - India v Australia at Adelaide, Dec. 2020
38 - Ireland v England at Lord's, July 2019
42 - New Zealand v Australia in Wellington, March 1946
42 - Australia v England in Sydney, Feb. 1888
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Who is Tim-Berners Lee?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee was born in London in a household of mathematicians and computer scientists. Both his mother, Mary Lee, and father, Conway, were early computer scientists who worked on the Ferranti 1 - the world's first commercially-available, general purpose digital computer. Sir Tim studied Physics at the University of Oxford and held a series of roles developing code and building software before moving to Switzerland to work for Cern, the European Particle Physics laboratory. He developed the worldwide web code as a side project in 1989 as a global information-sharing system. After releasing the first web code in 1991, Cern made it open and free for all to use. Sir Tim now campaigns for initiatives to make sure the web remains open and accessible to all.
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
