Pakistan and Afghanistan extend ceasefire - report

The ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been extended, the Dawn newspaper said, citing a high-ranking diplomatic source.

"The temporary ceasefire has been extended at the request of the Afghan Taliban," the source said.

According to the source, the Pakistani delegation has already arrived in Doha, which is expected to host conflict settlement talks. The Afghani delegation will arrive in the Qatari capital city on Saturday. The ceasefire will remain in force until the talks are over, the source added.

The Pakistani foreign ministry said on October 15 that Pakistan and Afghanistan had reached a temporary ceasefire for the next 48 hours. The ceasefire came into force from 4:00 p.m. Moscow time (1:00 p.m. GMT) on that day.

Armed clashes erupted on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday morning. The Pakistani military delivered a strike on terrorist positions in Afghanistan to retaliate an attack on checkpoints in the Kurram District in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.