Pakistan says it's ready for talks with Afghanistan as temporary truce holds

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday that Islamabad was ready to hold talks with Afghanistan to resolve their conflict, as a temporary ceasefire that halted days of fierce fighting between the former allies largely held.

The South Asian neighbours engaged in ground fighting and Pakistan launched airstrikes across their contested frontier, killing dozens and wounding hundreds before agreeing to a 48-hour truce from 1300 GMT on Wednesday.

Sharif told his cabinet in Islamabad that Pakistan had "retaliated" as it ran out of patience with Afghanistan following a series of terror attacks.

BALL IN AFGHAN COURT, PAKISTAN PM SAYS

"If they want to talk on our valid conditions and want to resolve through dialogue we are ready for that," Sharif said. "This message has been given to them yesterday. Now the ball is in their court."

"If this ceasefire is done just to buy time, we will not accept it," he added.

There was no immediate response to his remarks from Kabul, with Afghan defence ministry spokesperson Enayatullah Khowarazmi saying only that the ceasefire was holding so far.

A statement from the Afghan Taliban Interior Ministry said Minister Khalifa Sirajuddin Haqqani met senior Iranian officials and told them that Afghanistan seeks good relations with all countries, especially its neighbours.

"Just as we respect the sovereignty and dignity of others, we expect the same goodwill and respect toward us," the statement quoted Haqqani as saying.

PAKISTAN SAYS IT KILLED REBELS

Although the neighbours have clashed in the past, the latest fighting is their worst in decades.

The recent friction between the countries erupted after Islamabad demanded that Kabul act to rein in rebels who had stepped up attacks in Pakistan, saying they operated from havens in Afghanistan.

The Taliban denies the charge and accuses the Pakistani military of spreading misinformation about Afghanistan, provoking border tensions, and sheltering ISIS-linked fighters to undermine its stability and sovereignty.

Islamabad denies the accusations.

At least 18 civilians were killed and more than 360 wounded in Afghanistan as a result of the fighting since October 10, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said.

Pakistan said that it had killed 34 rebels in three separate operations this week.

EVERYTHING WENT DARK, AIRSTRIKE VICTIMS SAY

In Kabul's Taimani neighbourhood, residents were still recovering from an airstrike on Wednesday afternoon, hours before the ceasefire came into force.

Bashir Ahmad, a doctor at EMERGENCY's Surgical Centre in Kabul, a facility for war victims, said 34 people were brought there after the strike with numerous wounds.