ISLAMABAD

Residents on both sides of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border said Thursday they are experiencing calm after the two sides reached a ceasefire.

"The situation is calm,” Junaid Afridi from the Khyber district in Pakistan told Anadolu on the phone.

Islamabad and Kabul reached a 48-hour ceasefire Wednesday after deadly border fighting.

Abdul Wahid, a resident of Afghanistan’s Kunar province, confirmed that “no military activity or firing has been heard since last evening.”

Officials in Islamabad and Kabul also did not report any firing incidents between their forces at the border.

But border crossings remain closed, with hundreds of trucks and vehicles, as well as passengers, stuck on both sides since Saturday.

The neighboring nations have seen some of the deadliest fighting this month since 2021, when the Taliban took control of Kabul.

The recent escalation began when Kabul accused Islamabad of violating its airspace last Thursday, leading to clashes on Saturday, which stopped after a mediation by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

But fighting renewed late Tuesday and continued Wednesday, until the ceasefire took effect.

Diplomatic efforts are underway to defuse tensions, as Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan; the two discussed the regional situation and recent developments, according to the Pakistan Foreign Ministry.

Dar also exchanged messages with Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs M. Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi late Wednesday on the regional situation.