Doha – Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an immediate ceasefire following intense border clashes, as announced on October 19, 2025, after high-level talks in Doha mediated by Qatar and Turkey.
“During the negotiation, both sides agreed to an immediate ceasefire and establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries,” the statement read.
The agreement entails a complete halt to hostilities, with Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirming that all terrorist attacks originating from Afghan soil will cease immediately. Both nations agreed to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The talks lasted 13 hours and aimed to de-escalate tensions after weeks of deadly fighting that included attacks on Pakistani border posts by Afghan forces and retaliatory Pakistani strikes on militant camps inside Afghanistan.
The Doha talks began on Saturday with Pakistan urging the Afghan Taliban authorities to take ‘verifiable action’ against the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad accuses of launching cross-border terrorist attacks from Afghan soil.
The ceasefire agreement also includes plans for follow-up meetings, with the next scheduled for October 25 in Istanbul to finalize a framework for lasting peace and stability. The development comes amid heightened tensions along the Pak-Afghan border, triggered by cross-border clashes after alleged Pakistani airstrikes near Kabul on Friday.
Three Afghan cricketers were among several people killed in the strikes, which followed a terror attack at a military installation in North Waziristan, claimed by TTP. Following the incident, the Afghanistan Cricket Board withdrew from participating in the upcoming Tri-Nation T20I Series involving Pakistan, scheduled to be played in late November.
On Saturday, Army chief Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir warned Afghanistan to choose between ‘peace and chaos’ as it asked Kabul to take firm and immediate action against terrorists using Afghan soil to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
The conflict that led to the ceasefire saw the most intense clashes since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, resulting in dozens of military and civilian casualties on both sides.
The ceasefire is seen as an important step toward ending long-standing border tensions and addressing the issue of Taliban-linked militant operations from Afghan territory that Pakistan had cited as a cause of the conflict.
Both sides pledged not to support or carry out hostile actions against each other, and mechanisms will be established to maintain peace and security along the shared border going forward.