Pakistan, Afghanistan Agree Immediate Ceasefire After Doha Talks

Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to an immediate ceasefire on Sunday after high-level talks in Doha mediated by Qatar and Turkey, officials said, bringing a pause to more than a week of deadly crossborder fighting that left dozens dead and hundreds wounded along the disputed frontier. Delegations led by Pakistan's defence minister Khawaja Asif and Afghanistan's acting defence minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob met in the Qatari capital and committed to hold follow-up sessions and establish mechanisms to verify and sustain the truce.

The talks came after an initial 48-hour ceasefire expired on Friday and renewed violence, including Pakistani airstrikes in Paktika province that Afghan officials said killed civilians. Afghan authorities and local hospital officials reported at least 10 dead in those strikes, including three cricketers who were in the area for a tournament. Afghanistan's cricket board said it was withdrawing from an upcoming T20 series in Pakistan. Pakistani officials said the strikes targeted hideouts of the Hafiz Gul Bahadur group, a faction linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and described them as precision attacks against militants responsible for recent...