Chinese mediation efforts, including a message from President Xi Jinping, have helped ease the worst fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, three Pakistani government officials said.
The officials said a meeting between the Chinese ambassador to Pakistan, Jiang Zaidong, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late last month included a message from Xi to cease hostilities.
Neither side has reported any Pakistani air strikes on Afghanistan in recent days and ground fighting along the 2,600-kilometre border has tapered off, although daily clashes continue to be reported.
China has said it is in contact with both countries about ending hostilities but ?Mosharraf Zaidi, the prime minister’s spokeperson for foreign media, who has previously said there would not be any talks with the Taliban, did not respond to questions by Reuters about Beijing’s efforts.
Pakistani security officials have said the military campaign will continue until desired goals were achieved, which was to prevent terrorist attacks in the country launched from Afghan soil.
The Foreign Office and military did not respond to Reuters requests for comment.
It was also reported separately that Pakistan and Afghanistan border forces on Thursday agreed on a brief pause amid ongoing clashes to identify and collect a dead body lying at Zero Point at Torkham for the last few days.
However, the body, identified by Afghan authorities as a national, could not be retrieved from the location due to delayed consultation among the Afghan authorities and the time for the pause in fighting lapsing, sources said.
Five delegates from each side met at Zero Point after a pause was instituted at around 2:30pm on Thursday, with both sides holding white flags.
Meanwhile, security forces destroyed an Afghan Taliban post in an area adjoining the Zhob sector as part of an ongoing operation against militants, sources said on Thursday.
According to the sources, the action was carried out under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, during which Pakistani forces targeted positions linked to the Afghan Taliban and the terrorist group Fitna al-Khawarij.
Afghan Taliban posts were also destroyed in the Tull sector along the border.