Pakistan-Afghanistan Ceasefire Expires Tonight as Türkiye Keeps Diplomatic Channel Open
By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Ceasefire Expires at Midnight
The temporary halt in hostilities between Pakistan and Afghanistan expires tonight at midnight, with no extension announced by either side. The five-day Eid al-Fitr pause, brokered by Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, ran from midnight on March 18-19 to midnight on March 23-24.
Pakistan's signals ahead of the deadline leave little room for ambiguity. In his Pakistan Day message on Monday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said the country remains "firmly committed to eradicating the menace of terrorism," adding that Pakistan's military actions inside Afghanistan "are directed towards this goal." Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif echoed the same tone, stating that military action inside Afghanistan was "a symbol of our national resolve against terrorism" and that Islamabad would not allow any harm to the country's security.
A mortar shell fired from Pakistan struck the eastern Afghan province of Kunar on Sunday, according to Taliban government and medical sources, indicating that the ceasefire held imperfectly even during the Eid period.
Fidan Calls Dar, Afghanistan Not Reached
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke by telephone with Pakistan's Dar on Monday, hours before the ceasefire deadline, according to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. The call covered the latest developments in the conflict and efforts to halt the fighting. Qatar and Saudi Arabia, the other two mediating nations, were not mentioned in the Turkish readout.
Notably, no contact with Afghanistan's acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was reported alongside Monday's call. Fidan last spoke with both Islamabad and Kabul in late February, when the conflict first escalated sharply. The absence of a parallel Afghan contact on the day the ceasefire expires is an asymmetry that limits Ankara's ability to push for an extension.
No Negotiating Framework
The Eid ceasefire, like the Qatar-brokered truce of October 2025 before it, carries no follow-on negotiating mechanism. The October ceasefire was followed by technical talks in Istanbul in late October and early November 2025, but those rounds produced no agreement and the truce eventually collapsed in February, triggering the current round of fighting.
Pakistan has set a consistent precondition for any durable settlement: verifiable action by the Taliban government against Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan and affiliated militant groups operating from Afghan soil. Kabul denies that its territory is used to plan attacks on Pakistan. The gap between the two positions has not narrowed during the Eid period.
As Bosphorus News reported, Sharif acknowledged Türkiye's contribution to the ceasefire in his call with President Erdoğan on March 19, describing Ankara's role as constructive.