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Türkiye on Wednesday welcomed a ceasefire between Afghanistan and Pakistan for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a pause in hostilities that Ankara helped broker alongside Qatar and Saudi Arabia after weeks of escalating cross-border violence that has killed more than 100 people.
Pakistan announced it would suspend its military operations in Afghanistan beginning at midnight Wednesday through Monday, March 23, following diplomatic requests from the three mediating nations. Afghanistan similarly agreed to observe the truce during the holiday period.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the ceasefire would "pave the way to a process whereby lasting peace and prosperity will be provided to the peoples of Afghanistan and Pakistan."
Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz struck a similar tone, saying Ankara was deeply pleased that both countries had responded positively to the calls for a truce. "At a time when unity among brotherly nations is needed more than ever, we hope this decision will lead to overcoming problems through negotiation, lasting peace and solidarity," Yilmaz wrote on his social media account.
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The ceasefire comes after relations between the two neighbors deteriorated sharply in recent weeks, with escalating hostilities causing significant casualties and property damage on both sides.
Since late February, cross-border clashes have killed at least 107 people. Pakistan has reported 13 soldiers and five civilians killed, with one soldier still missing. Afghan authorities have put their losses at 13 soldiers and 76 civilians, a figure that excludes the latest casualties claimed in a strike on Monday.
The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan documented 76 civilian deaths and 213 injuries from hostilities in Afghanistan between Feb. 26 and March 16. Those figures do not include casualties from a late Monday incident at the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital in the capital, Kabul.
The conflict centers on a long-standing accusation from Islamabad that Afghanistan harbors anti-Pakistan militant groups operating from Afghan territory, a charge that Kabul has consistently denied. The dispute reflects decades of mutual suspicion along the porous border region between the two countries, an area that has historically been difficult for either side to fully control.
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