The Taliban and Pakistan have agreed to a ceasefire after days of deadly clashes

The Taliban government of Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to an “immediate ceasefire” after more than a week of deadly fighting.

Qatar’s foreign ministry, which is brokering the talks alongside Turkey, said both sides had agreed to create “mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability”.

Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, said an end to “hostilities” was “important”, while Pakistan’s foreign minister called the agreement “a first step in the right direction”.

Both sides claim heavy casualties in the clashes, the heaviest fighting since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Islamabad has long accused the Taliban of harboring armed groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which it denies.

Clashes have intensified along the 1,600-mile mountainous border between the two countries after the Taliban accused Pakistan of carrying out attacks on the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Rumors spread that the Kabul blasts were a targeted attack on Noor Wali Mehsud, the leader of the Pakistani Taliban. In response, the group released an unconfirmed voice memo from Mehsud saying he was still alive.

In the following days, Afghan troops fired on Pakistani border posts, prompting Pakistan to respond with mortar fire and drone strikes.

At least three dozen Afghan civilians have been killed and hundreds more wounded, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said Thursday.

A temporary truce was announced on Wednesday evening while delegations met in Doha, but cross-border strikes continued.

On Friday, the Taliban said Pakistan did it carried out an airstrike that killed eightincluding three local cricketers.

Under the new agreement, the Taliban said they would not “support groups carrying out attacks against the government of Pakistan,” while both sides agreed to refrain from targeting security forces, civilians or critical infrastructure.

Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said the latest ceasefire meant “terrorism from Afghanistan on Pakistani soil will be stopped immediately”, with the two sides meeting in Istanbul for further talks next week.

Pakistan has been a major supporter of the Taliban since its ouster in 2001 following a US-led invasion.

But relations soured after Islamabad accused the group of harboring the Pakistani Taliban, who have launched an armed insurgency against government forces.

The group has carried out at least 600 attacks against Pakistani forces in the past year, according to Armed Conflict Location and Data Project.