By Staff Reporter
TORKHAM: Pakistani and Afghan border forces agreed Thursday to a temporary halt in their persistent cross-border skirmishes so that delegations of local elders could retrieve the body of an Afghan national that had lain unclaimed for days at the Zero Point of the Torkham crossing.
The humanitarian pause, however, ended in frustration when the Afghan delegates requested more time to consult higher authorities, and the window for safe passage closed before the body could be moved. Local residents had first noticed the corpse and alerted security officials on both sides. Videos and photographs of the body quickly spread on social media, prompting the two countries to assemble delegations of influential tribal and religious figures to identify the deceased and carry it away from the heavily militarized frontier.
The Pakistani delegation consisted of eight members: Malak Tajuddin, Shah Khalid, Murad Hussain, Mufti Ejaz, Saeed Khan, Qari Nazeemgul, Maulana Aaqib and Qari Jihad Shah. The Afghan side fielded 11 representatives: Haji Madtyaar Shinwari, Malak Maula Khan Shinwari, Raees Gul Majeed, Malak Waali Khan, Malak Gul Rehman, Qari Baseer, Mautabar Khan, Mufti Asadullah, Darya Khan, Malak Shahzar and Malak Hilmand.
Five delegates from each country met at Zero Point shortly after 2:30 p.m., each side carrying white flags in a rare gesture of temporary cooperation. The cease-fire was scheduled to last until 5:30 p.m. Mufti Ejaz, a senior member of the Pakistani group, said the Afghan delegates confirmed the body belonged to one of their nationals but asked for additional time to discuss the matter with superiors. “The matter could not be resolved as the Afghan side could not return till the 5:30 p.m. deadline for the pause,” he said.
Shah Khalid, another Pakistani delegate, added that the group had also been tasked with searching the immediate area for any other casualties from recent cross-fire. “We had information about more casualties due to the cross-firing,” he said. “No more dead bodies could be found as the delegates were running short of time.” The Pakistani team returned to Landi Kotal on their side of the border once the deadline expired, after which sporadic shooting resumed.
Ejaz expressed hope that the issue could be settled on Friday. If Afghan authorities still decline to take the body, he said, it would be transported to a local graveyard in Landi Kotal for burial.
The episode unfolded as Pakistan presses ahead with Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, a military campaign launched in late February after an unprovoked firing from Afghan territory. Pakistani officials have long accused the Afghan Taliban government of providing sanctuary to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an allegation Kabul denies. United Nations monitoring reports over the past two years have documented the TTP’s presence in eastern Afghanistan, although the Taliban insist they offer no support.
Chinese mediation cools Pakistan-Afghanistan fighting
In a separate development, Chinese diplomatic intervention appears to have helped temper the worst fighting between the neighbors since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Three Pakistani government officials told Reuters that a message from President Xi Jinping, conveyed through Ambassador Jiang Zaidong during a meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif late last month, urged both sides to cease hostilities.
Neither country has reported fresh Pakistani air strikes on Afghan soil in recent days, and although ground clashes along the 2,600-kilometer border continue on a smaller scale, the intensity has eased. Pakistan’s security officials have insisted the military operation will persist until militant attacks launched from Afghan territory are curtailed. Islamabad launched air strikes inside Afghanistan on Feb. 26, claiming the Taliban were sheltering militants responsible for violence inside Pakistan.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey — which previously hosted talks during flare-ups last October — have been preoccupied with the war in the Middle East. China has stepped into the breach. Its foreign ministry told Reuters that Special Envoy for Afghanistan Affairs Yue Xiaoyong is shuttling between Kabul and Islamabad, while embassies in both capitals maintain close contact. “The most urgent task is to prevent the fighting from expanding and for the two countries to return to the negotiating table as soon as possible,” the ministry said.
Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar. In Kabul, Chinese Ambassador Zhao Xing and the special envoy met this week with Afghanistan’s acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, according to an Afghan statement. Beijing, a close ally of Pakistan, has substantial economic stakes in both countries, including more than $65 billion invested in Pakistani roads, railways and energy projects under its Belt and Road Initiative. Chinese companies have also pursued mining and mineral opportunities on both sides of the border.
In Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi confirmed that Afghanistan remains a central topic in Pakistan’s discussions with China. He described a recent Pakistani delegation that reportedly traveled to Afghanistan for talks with the Taliban as entirely non-official. “I would not try to underestimate or minimise the importance of this visit,” he said, “but let me tell you that this visit certainly is not part of any official efforts. These individuals … are in a non-official capacity from our perspective.”
Andrabi noted that Dar’s telephone conversation with Wang Yi reflected the deep strategic partnership between Pakistan and China. “We enjoy unanimity of views on all issues, including with respect to Afghanistan,” he said. “Afghanistan features both in our bilateral dialogue as well as in our trilateral dialogue framework.” He added that Chinese Ambassador Yue Xiaoyong was visiting Pakistan and that officials hoped for “productive discussions … particularly on terrorism emanating from Afghanistan.” Andrabi said he had no information about any Turkish delegation reportedly seeking to broker a cease-fire.
Information ministry on Wednesday said the security forces have killed at least 641 Afghan Taliban operatives and wounded more than 855 others in a month-long border offensive. The toll, announced by Minister Attaullah Tarar on the social media platform X, also included the destruction of 243 Afghan checkpoints, the capture and demolition of 42 more posts, and the elimination of 219 tanks, armored vehicles and artillery pieces. Tarar said Pakistani airstrikes had further “decimated” 65 terrorist hideouts and support locations inside Afghanistan.
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