ISLAMABAD

Pakistan and Afghanistan reopened their two main borders to people on Saturday after weeks of closure, following talks in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul.

The Torkham crossing connecting Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar, as well as the Chaman border in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, which connects to Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, were closed on Oct. 12 for all types of movement following deadly clashes between the countries.

Pakistan and Afghanistan share 18 border crossings, with Torkham and Chaman serving as major trade and people-movement routes.

The Torkham border reopened after Islamabad and Kabul agreed on Thursday to maintain a ceasefire during talks in Istanbul.

"The border crossing reopened today for families traveling to Afghanistan, but it will remain closed for trade," a Pakistani official at the Torkham border told Anadolu by phone on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

However, the official added that the border is expected to reopen for trade on Monday.

Pakistan has also reopened the Chaman border crossing with Afghanistan.

According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, Pakistani and Afghan delegations will meet again in Istanbul on Nov. 6 to discuss additional principles for implementing the truce as well as measures to prevent further tensions.

The first round of talks took place in Doha last month before being moved to Istanbul with mediation by Türkiye and Qatar, both of which were praised by Islamabad and Kabul for facilitating dialogue.

Meanwhile, militants in Pakistan suffered their highest number of casualties in a single month in decades, with 355 terrorists killed in October, according to the latest report from the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think tank.

It added that 72 of the 458 people killed in terrorist attacks last month were security personnel, while 30 were civilians.