 "Taliban fighters holding up the trousers and rifles allegedly left behind by Pakistani troops amid the clashes on Wednesday. Image Courtesy: @DaudJunbish/X")
After violence and tensions running high, there’s an eerie calm as Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a temporary ceasefire on Wednesday. But this fragile truce comes at a rather embarrassing price for Islamabad. In fact, one could say that the fighting led to Pakistan being caught with their pants down, quite literally.
Following the truce being called, several videos emerged showing Afghan fighters celebrating their ‘win’ over Pakistan. While some videos showed the Taliban forces parading captured Pakistani tanks and weapons in the area around the shared border, others showed the Mujahideen even parading pants of the Pakistani soldiers who reportedly fled their positions during the fighting.
Afghanistan’s ‘pant worthy’ celebrations
After a day of heavy firing between Afghanistan and Pakistan on Wednesday, both sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire for 48 hours. “During this period, both sides will sincerely strive to find a positive solution to this complex but resolvable issue through constructive dialogue,” the Pakistani ministry of foreign affairs said.
Notably, the Pakistani foreign ministry stated that the truce came on the request of Kabul. However, the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan maintains that the ceasefire was due to the “insistence of the Pakistani side”.
Following the announcement, visuals emerged on social media of Afghan locals celebrating the news, calling it a triumph of the Taliban troops over the Pakistani military.
One video, which has since gone viral, shows the Afghan forces capturing a Pakistani military tank following their confrontations at the shared border. “They return from the war, bringing a Pakistani tank with them, all dusty and tired. God willing, they all return to Kandahar,” the man driving the vehicle and filming the video could be heard saying in some local language.
But the one image that would be particularly embarrassing for Pakistan is in which Taliban troops are holding up the trousers and rifles allegedly left behind by Pakistani troops. BBC journalist Daud Junbish shared images of the trousers and weapons displayed in Nangrahar province, highlighting the humiliation of Pakistan’s forces. “Empty trousers, recovered from abandoned military posts of the Pakistani army near the Durand Line, are displayed in eastern Nangrahar province, Afghanistan,” Junbish wrote on social media.
There are several other videos circulating on social media of Afghanis celebrating their ‘victory’ over Pakistani troops. However, Firstpost couldn’t verify the authenticity of these visuals.
Some locals of Afghanistan took to the streets and held gatherings to express their support for the country’s security forces. Ziaullah, a resident of Badakhshan, was quoted telling Tolo News: “We appreciate our military forces who stood against the Pakistani occupiers.”
Mohammad Zaman, a resident of Baghlan, said: “We stand with our security forces both materially and spiritually, and we will defend the territorial integrity of our country under any circumstances.”
Fierce fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan
The 48-hour ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which came into effect on Wednesday evening, came after fresh cross-border skirmishes earlier in the day.
It began early Wednesday morning (October 15) with Islamabad carrying out an airstrike on the Afghan border province of Kandahar and hit the town of Spin Boldak. Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban, said that as a result of the attacks by Pakistani forces, 12 civilians were killed and more than 100 others were injured.
Afghanistan troops retaliated to the strikes, with the Taliban stating that it had killed “a large number of Pakistani soldiers”, captured their posts and centres, seized their weapons and tanks, and “destroyed” most of their military facilities.
However, Pakistan refutes these claims, accusing the Afghan Taliban of striking first. It further said that about 20 Taliban fighters were killed in attacks launched early Wednesday near Spin Boldak.
The violence on Wednesday followed the deadly clashes that erupted over the weekend while Afghan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was in India. Both sides claimed to have inflicted significant damage on the other; Pakistan said it killed over 200 fighters from the Afghan Taliban and their allies, while Afghanistan maintained it had eliminated 58 Pakistani soldiers, news agency Reuters reported.
The violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan has escalated in recent times with Islamabad accusing Afghan authorities of sheltering members of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which Islamabad claims is behind a series of deadly attacks inside the country. Kabul has rejected these allegations, insisting it does not allow Afghan territory to be used against any other nation.
A shaky truce in place
The pause in fighting comes after appeals from major regional powers, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The Saudi foreign ministry even put out a statement earlier, urging for calm between the two nations. “Pakistan and Afghanistan should avoid tensions and engage in dialogue for stability.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi also was quoted as saying that stability between Pakistan and Afghanistan could bring peace to the entire region.
With inputs from agencies