Zürcher Nachrichten - Temporary Afghanistan-Pakistan ceasefire nears end

Dozens of soldiers and civilians on both sides have been killed since the clashes began nearly a week ago, with explosions also heard in the Afghan capital Kabul.

The truce was announced Wednesday, with Pakistan indicating that it would last until Friday evening.

But officials have not said what will once the ceasefire expires.

Residents near the border early Friday said the ceasefire appeared to be holding.

"Everything is fine, everything is open," said Nani, 35, a resident of the Afghan frontier town of Spin Boldak, where the fighting had been particularly intense.

"I'm not afraid, but everyone sees things differently. Some say they're going to send their children elsewhere as the situation isn't good, but I don't think anything will happen," said Nani, who did not give a surname.

Afghanistan said on Wednesday that the truce would endure unless Pakistan violated it, without confirming that the deal had a 48-hour limit.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Thursday that for the truce to endure, the ball was "in the court" of the Taliban government.

"If in 48 hours they want to resolve the issues and address our genuine demands, then we are ready for them," Sharif told his cabinet.

Pakistan's foreign office described the situation as "delicate".

"We are in a temporary ceasefire, we are trying to work towards a diplomatic track to make it sustainable and to the long-term stability of the relationship -- that is a larger objective to us," spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan said at a weekly press briefing on Friday.

"But beyond that, I am not in a position to share any information with you."

- 'Mixed feelings' -

Initial explosions, which the Taliban blamed on Pakistan, struck Kabul last week.

Taliban authorities then launched an offensive along the border, prompting a deadly response from Islamabad in the days before the ceasefire.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan said 37 people were killed and 425 wounded on the Afghan side of the border, calling on both sides to bring a lasting end to hostilities.

An AFP correspondent in Spin Boldak said they saw hundreds of people attending funerals on Thursday, including for children whose bodies were wrapped in white shrouds.

"People have mixed feelings," Nematullah, 42, told AFP. "They fear that the fighting will resume, but they still leave their homes and go about their business."

Calm has also returned to Kabul, where new explosions rang out shortly before the ceasefire announcement on Wednesday.

Nobody claimed responsibility for the blasts, but Pakistani security sources said they had undertaken "precision strikes" against an armed group in the Afghan capital.

Sources in Afghanistan suggested that Pakistan was behind at least one of the blasts and that they were air strikes, but the government has not formally accused Islamabad.

The initial explosions took place as the Taliban's foreign minister was beginning an unprecedented visit to India, Pakistan's historic foe.

On Thursday, Sharif suggested that New Delhi was involved in the confrontation, without giving details.

Security issues have been at the heart of resurgent tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Pakistan, facing a rise in attacks on its security forces, has accused Afghanistan of harbouring terrorist groups, a claim that Kabul denies.

M.Hug--NZN