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Following a week of deadly clashes along their border, Pakistan and Afghanistan have come to terms with an “immediate ceasefire,” which is at their lowest level since the Taliban’s rule in 2021.

Both countries agreed to stop fighting and work towards “lasting peace and stability” after peace talks in Doha, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday, about the deal it mediated alongside Turkiye.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds wounded in the worst bout of violence in recent years. After Islamabad allegedly launched strikes in Kabul and the southeast of Paktika against what it claimed were armed groups linked to attacks inside Pakistan, the violence broke out on October 11 at various fronts along their 2,600km (1, 600-mile) border.

What are the current findings regarding the truce and what might follow?

What do we know about the ceasefire?

The two sides “agreed to an immediate ceasefire and the establishment of mechanisms to consolidate lasting peace and stability between the two countries,” Qatar’s Foreign Ministry announced in a statement in the Qatari capital Doha.

The two parties also agreed to hold follow-up meetings in the coming days to ensure the ceasefire’s viability and ensure its effective implementation, contributing to the establishment of security and stability in both nations, according to the statement.

Following the Qatari ministry’s statement, Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Asif posted confirmation of the deal on X.

Asif remarked that “cross-border terrorism from Afghan territory will cease immediately.” Both nations will respect one another’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Asif further confirmed a “follow-up meeting between the delegations is scheduled to take place in the Turkish city of Istanbul on October 25 to discuss the matters in detail”.

Ishaq Dar, the deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Pakistan, described the truce as “the first step in the right direction.”

“We look forward to the establishment of a concrete and verifiable monitoring mechanism, in the next meeting to be hosted by Turkiye, to address the menace of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil towards Pakistan. He stated on X that it is crucial to take all necessary steps to stop any additional fatalities.

According to Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesperson for the Taliban, “both sides reiterate their commitment to peace, mutual respect, and the maintenance of strong and constructive neighborly relations.”

” Both sides are committed to resolving issues and disputes through dialogue, “Mujahid said in a post on X”. No nation has decided to oppose the other and not to support organizations that attack Pakistan’s government.

The nations have agreed to “never” target one another’s security forces, civilians, or critical infrastructure, according to Mujahid.

Mujahid, as well as Dar and Asif, thanked Qatar and Turkiye for their role in facilitating the talks that led to the ceasefire.

Why has Pakistan attributed the Taliban’s attacks to its own territory?

Pakistan wants the Taliban to oust armed organizations that are linked to TTP, the Taliban, and other organizations that are accused of attacking its territory. Armed attacks by TTP rebels and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), which operates in the resource-rich Balochistan province, have surged in recent years, with 2025 on track to become the deadliest year.

The violence has hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, which border Afghanistan, hardest.

According to the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), an Islamabad-based think tank, at least 2, 414 deaths have been reported for the first three quarters of this year.

Pakistan and the Taliban, once allies over shared regional security interests, have fallen out as Islamabad claims that Afghanistan is giving haven to the TTP – an allegation Kabul has rejected.

The Durand Line, which is recognized by Pakistan but not by Afghanistan, and Kabul and Islamabad have also been at odds with one another.

The Taliban in Afghanistan share TTP’s ideology. However, the groups have different goals and operate independently.

Pakistan has gotten assurances from the Taliban that these organizations, which operate in porous border regions with Afghanistan, won’t be able to run freely and that border attacks won’t stop.

The Taliban spokesman, Mujahid, stated in a post later on Sunday that “the Afghan soil will not be used against any other country.” It is” the consistent stance of the Islamic Emirate “he said, referring to the official name of the Afghanistan government.

He posted on X and said, “It does not support any attack against anyone and has always stressed this stance.”

Islamabad also wants the Taliban to prevent the regrouping or expansion of anti-Pakistan networks&nbsp, within Afghanistan, which&nbsp, the government considers a threat to Pakistan’s stability and broader regional strategy.

Kabul-based political analyst Abdullah Baheer called the bombing of Afghanistan and the killing of civilians “a problematic model.”

He told Al Jazeera, “Tell me one piece of evidence that they hit any TTP operative in Afghanistan in the past week of bombing, despite the 50 dead and 550 injured.”

He added that the TTP is a local rebel group within Pakistan that far precedes the Taliban’s coming to power in Afghanistan”. Do you anticipate the Taliban to intervene and prevent the TTP from pursuing any of its political or military objectives? He inquired.

” Let’s take the argument that TTP are operating from safe havens within Afghanistan. You can use influence over an independent group to the extent that it exerts control over them, he continued.

The Taliban, as previously stated, refuses to provide TTP with a safe haven within Afghanistan’s borders.

Why the spike in attacks inside Pakistan?

After being overthrown by US-led NATO forces in 2001, Islamabad was the country’s main supporter. It was also accused of providing refuge to Taliban fighters during their 20-year armed rebellion against American occupation of Afghanistan.

But relations have soured over the surge in attacks inside Pakistan.

According to a report from the independent nonprofit Armed Conflict Location &amp, Event Data (ACLED), the TTP has resurfaced as one of Pakistan’s biggest national security threats. In the past year, it has carried out more than 600 attacks on Pakistani forces.

The Islamabad-based think tank CRSS reports a 46% increase in violence in the first three-quarters of this year compared to last year.

The violence attributed to the TTP had decreased from its peak in the late 2000s and early 2010s after Islamabad involved the armed groups in talks and addressed some of their demands in 2021, which include the release of their members from prison and an end to military operations in the tribal areas.

The TTP also demanded that the tribal region’s and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province’s merger of 2018 be reversed. One of their demands is for their interpretation of Islamic law to be stricter.

A month after the Taliban took over Kabul in August 2021, it mediated talks between the Pakistani military and the TTP, a decision endorsed and pushed by Imran Khan, Pakistan’s then-prime minister. However, in April 2022, Khan, who supported negotiations with the armed groups, was fired as prime minister.

After the TTP unilaterally withdrawn from the ceasefire agreement in 2022, accusing Islamabad of resuming its military operations there, violence erupted.

Since its founding in 2007, the TTP has targeted civilians and law enforcement personnel, resulting in thousands of deaths. More than 130 students were killed when they targeted the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar in December 2014, according to their deadliest attack.

The US has designated the group a “terrorist” and the organization is still prohibited in Pakistan.

The Pakistani army has conducted multiple operations to eliminate the group, but has struggled to achieve its goal as fighters have used the porous border to move back and forth between the neighbouring countries.

There are “no winners in war,” according to Baheer, the political analyst. Only losers exist.

After an intruders managed to steal eight pieces of priceless jewelry in a quick-hit heist that shook the world’s most-visited museum, the Louvre Museum in the French capital closed for “exceptional reasons.”

On Sunday, police in Paris conducted a manhunt for the thieves as armed soldiers patrolled the museum’s iconic glass pyramid entrance and taped the famous Mona Lisa museum, which is famous for its depiction of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting.

Following the opening of the Galerie d’Apollon (Apollo’s Gallery), several intruders reportedly used a lift to hoist furniture into buildings to enter the museum.

Eight items dating back to the Napoleonic era were loaded with motorcycles that the thieves had stolen from within four minutes, with ninth items dropping on their way out.

French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the heist as an “attack on a heritage that we cherish” on social media.

He continued, “The perpetrators will be brought to justice.” Under the direction of the Paris prosecutor’s office, “everything is being done, everywhere, to accomplish this.”

What we know about the heist, which occurs as the Louvre is questioned over the presence of large crowds and overworked staff.

What transpired?

The thieves targeted in on Apollo’s Gallery, a gold-gilded, lavishly painted hall commissioned by King Louis XIV that houses the French crown jewels, around 9:30am local time (07:30 GMT) on Sunday as tourists were already flocked to the Louvre.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez described the incident as a “major robbery” and claimed that the thieves climbed onto a motorbike and escaped with “jewels of inestimable value” from the museum’s windows.

The Louvre ejected all visitors and posted a notice online that the museum would be closed for the day in “exceptional” circumstances.

As authorities opened an investigation, police meanwhile sealed the gates, cleared courtyards, and even blocked nearby streets along the Seine River.

According to one American tourist, Talia Ocampo, it was “crazy,” like a Hollywood movie, according to the AFP news agency.

No reports of any injuries, but four thieves, reportedly four, were still at large as of Sunday night.

What did the heist steal?

The Ministry of Culture confirmed late on Sunday that thieves had managed to get rid of eight items from two high-security display cases. Some of these pieces were owned by Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III, and others by Empress Marie-Louise, the wife of French emperor Napoleon I.

These are the stolen items:

• Tiara from the Queen Marie-Amelie and Queen Hortense jewelry collection
• Necklace from the same duo’s sapphire jewelry collection.
• The sapphire jewelry set includes one earring.
• Marie-Louise collection’s Emerald necklace
• Emerald earrings from the Marie-Louise collection
• Brooch known as the “reliquary” brooch
• Empress Eugenie’s tiara
• Empress Eugenie’s brooch is yet another large.

According to the ministry, the thieves fled after finding the crown of Empress Eugenie outside the museum, where it was later dropped. According to the Louvre, the crown contains 1, 354 diamonds and 56 emeralds.

According to the museum’s website, the museum also has “the magnificent hardstone vessel collection of the kings of France” as well as three historical diamonds, the Regent, the Sancy, and the Hortensia.

According to Anthony Amore, an expert on art theft and co-author of the book Stealing Rembrandts: The Untold Stories of Notorious Art Heists, the items in the collection were “not just in terms of dollars, but in terms of cultural patrimony.”

Amore said, “It’s not like stealing a masterpiece where the news media would immediately make this image public.” You might see pieces like this being disassembled and individual jewels that are difficult to tell from one another.

How were they able to steal?

Authorities claimed the thieves managed the minutes-long heist using a combination of power tools, motorcycles, and efficiency.

According to a police source, the group assembled on a scooter and loaded with angle grinders. They cut windowpanes with a disc cutter while gaining access to the gallery using the hoist from the outside.

One witness claimed to see two men “get on the hoist, break the window, and enter,” adding that the entire procedure “took 30 seconds.” He claimed to be riding his bicycle nearby at the time.

The thieves entered the museum, which is located inside a former palace, through the Seine’s facade, where construction work is still being done, according to Le Parisien. According to the newspaper, two of the workers were wearing yellow safety vests while working on construction sites.

Authorities arrived “a few minutes after we received information about this robbery,” according to Culture Minister Rachida Dati.

She said, “To be completely honest, this operation was very quick. It lasted almost four minutes.”

The hoist was filmed on camera leading up a balcony window, which some observers claimed was the thieves’ entry point before it was removed on Sunday, facing the Seine.

What’s going on now?

Forforensic teams have gathered evidence and surveillance video from the Denon wing, where Apollo’s Gallery is located, and the Seine riverfront, while the thieves are still at large.

Authorities said they also planned to interview employees who were employed when the museum first opened on Sunday.

The Interior Ministry stated that a detailed list of the stolen goods was being prepared, but added that “these items have priceless heritage and historical value beyond their market value.”

The thieves were referred to as “professionals,” according to Dati, the minister of culture.

She said that organized crime today targets art objects, and museums have of course become such targets.

Have previous heists occurred?

The Mona Lisa portrait vanished from the frame of the Louvre in 1911, making it the most well-known heist. Two years later, a visitor threw a stone into the famous painting, which had chipped paint near the subject’s left elbow, forcing the portrait to be moved behind bulletproof glass.

The museum has faced growing crowds, which totaled 8.7 million in 2024, and disgruntled staff who claim to be too stretched in recent years.

The museum was forced to close its doors in June as a result of a staff strike due to persistent understaffing.

Out of the museum’s total workforce of nearly 2, 000, the equivalent of 200 positions have been cut, according to a union source who requested anonymity.

French politicians and citizens were confounded by the fact that the theft occurred in broad daylight on Sunday.