Afghanistan and Pakistan, embroiled in fighting that has killed dozens of people and injured hundreds, pledged on Sunday to respect a ceasefire.The truce, mediated by Qatar and Turkey, came into effect immediately and is intended to pause hostilities.

Afghanistan has pulled out of an upcoming cricket series after three players in a local tournament were killed in an air strike it blamed Pakistan for. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said it would withdraw from November's tri-nation T20 series out of respect for the dead. The three did not play for the national team.

Cross-border fighting between Pakistan and Taliban-ruled Afghanistan reached a fever pitch, with Pakistan carrying out airstrikes in Kabul.

The tenuous peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan appears to have ended after days of escalating conflict that came to a head as Afghanistan accused its neighbor of carrying out airstrikes on its territory on Friday.

Afghanistan and Pakistan said they had agreed a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday, following days of deadly clashes between the neighbors and former allies.

The deteriorating relationship follows a series of deadly attacks inside Pakistan, reportedly carried out by the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) from within Afghanistan.

LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Khawaja Saad Rafique said on Saturday that Pakistan and Afghanistan must establish clear and lasting rules for coexistence, stressing that geography binds the two countries together.

Twenty European countries on Saturday called upon the European Commission to provide more options for returning Afghans without residence permits to their home country. The Dutch government published a letter to this effect addressed to EU Migration Commissioner Magnus Brunner.