Dozens of troops and civilians were killed in a fresh round of border skirmishes between Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday, officials on both sides of the frontier said, hours before Islamabad said the two sides had agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire.

The ceasefire was announced by Pakistan’s foreign ministry after a week of violence between the two neighbours that flared after explosions in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan that were blamed on Pakistan.

The Taliban government in Kabul launched an offensive along parts of its southern border in retaliation, prompting Islamabad to vow a strong response of its own.

Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of harbouring militant groups led by the Pakistani Taliban (TTP) on its soil, a claim Kabul denies.

With both countries on edge, plumes of bl

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