Kabul: Afghanistan’s Taliban government on Thursday accused Pakistan of carrying out two drone strikes on Kabul a day earlier, just hours before both countries announced a ceasefire following days of deadly cross-border clashes.

The truce, brokered on Wednesday after intense fighting that killed dozens and wounded hundreds on both sides, temporarily halted what has been the deadliest confrontation between the neighbours since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. The clashes erupted amid growing tensions along the disputed border.

Islamabad has not yet publicly responded to the Taliban’s latest accusation, and it remains unclear whether the ceasefire will hold. The United Nations welcomed the truce on Thursday and urged both sides to work toward a “lasting end to hostilities.”

Pakistani officials, speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to discuss ongoing military operations, earlier told The Associated Press that their forces had targeted militant hideouts on Wednesday.

According to Khalid Zadran, spokesman for the Kabul police chief, “the strikes hit the city on Wednesday afternoon.” He said the drones struck a civilian house and a market, though he did not provide casualty figures. Hospital doctors told AP that five people were killed and dozens were injured.

Emergency, a nongovernmental organisation operating a surgical centre in Kabul, said victims had suffered “shrapnel wounds, blunt force trauma and burns.” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid initially attributed the blasts to “an oil tanker explosion.”

Cross-border violence has intensified since October 10, with both countries claiming to be responding to armed provocations. Pakistani officials maintain that militants based inside Afghanistan have been responsible for repeated attacks on their soil — a charge the Taliban denies.

The ceasefire was announced after appeals from regional powers concerned that the violence could destabilise the area, where groups such as the Islamic State and al-Qaida are attempting to regroup. There were no reports of renewed fighting overnight, but key border crossings remained closed on Thursday.

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said the fighting had taken a heavy toll. “UNAMA calls on all parties to bring a lasting end to hostilities to protect civilians and prevent further loss of life,” the mission said in a statement.

According to UNAMA, 37 civilians were killed and 425 wounded this week in Afghanistan as a result of cross-border shelling and airstrikes. Most of the casualties occurred in the southern provinces of Paktya, Paktika, Kunar, Khost, Kandahar and Helmand. The mission also documented at least 16 civilian casualties in earlier rounds of fighting.

Pakistan has not released its own civilian casualty figures. However, officials said Thursday that security forces killed “dozens of militants” who crossed over from Afghanistan into the Mohmand district of northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the militants were detected and “neutralised” during an exchange of fire.

Afghanistan and Pakistan share a 2,611-kilometre (1,622-mile) border known as the Durand Line, a colonial-era boundary that Kabul has never formally recognised.