Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday, the foreign ministry in Islamabad said, after dozens of troops and civilians were killed earlier in a fresh round of border skirmishes.

“The Pakistani government and the Afghan Taliban regime — at the Taliban’s request… have decided to implement a temporary ceasefire starting from 6 pm (0100 GMT) today for the next 48 hours,” the ministry said.

There was no immediate response from Taliban authorities in Kabul. (AFP)