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Pakistan said Wednesday it agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire with Afghanistan following days of violence that have killed dozens of people on both sides of the border.Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said the ceasefire was at Afghanistan’s request. There was no immediate confirmation from the Taliban government.Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of harboring armed groups, a charge rejected by the Taliban rulers. Pakistan is grappling with militant attacks that have increased since 2021, when the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan.The escalation of tensions is likely to destabilize a region where groups, including the Islamic State and al-Qaida, are trying to establish a foothold and resurface.Earlier Wednesday, before the ceasefire announcement, Pakistan said its forces killed dozens of Afghan security forces and militants in overnight fighting. The clashes had stopped briefly Sunday following appeals from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.Pakistan forces said they had repelled “unprovoked” assaults, but denied targeting civilians after the Taliban government said more than a dozen were killed and over 100 others wounded when Pakistan targeted sites in a border area of Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province.Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban government's chief spokesman, said Pakistan used light and heavy weapons in assaults on Spin Boldak in Kandahar. Afghan forces returned fire and killed several Pakistani soldiers, seized military posts and captured weapons including tanks, Mujahid added.Pakistan's army also targeted militant hideouts in the Afghan capital, two Pakistani security officials said Wednesday on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak with the media.People in the Pakistani border town of Chaman reported mortars falling near villages and some families were seen evacuating early Wednesday.“This fighting has been going on since early (Wednesday) morning, and people who live close to the border are leaving the area,” said Chaman resident Najibullah Khan, who urged the two countries to end the fighting to prevent further shelling.Pakistan’s border regions have experienced violence since 1979 when it became a frontline state in the U.S.-backed war against the Soviet Union.“After the Sept. 11 attacks, Pakistan’s tribal belt descended into chaos as the Afghan Taliban, al-Qaida, and other groups operated from both sides of the border for attacks on NATO forces and Pakistani security forces," said Abdullah Khan, a defense analyst and managing director of the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies.As of Wednesday, key border crossings remain closed, officials said.

Amid growing demand for stricter compliance with safety and quality control norms for medical products, the Centre is framing a law to strengthen the legal framework for drug quality testing and market surveillance, along with regulation of medical devices and cosmetics.One of the major reasons behind the drafting of the law is the repeated complaints and concerns flagged by health regulators across the globe, including the WHO, over serious quality lapses by Indian drug manufacturers.The draft of the 'Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Act 2025' was presented by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr Rajeev Raghuvanshi at a high-level meeting of the Union health ministry held on Tuesday, the sources said.The meeting was chaired by Union Health Minister J P Nadda.During the meeting, senior officials from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) outlined the framework of the proposed law.The meeting comes days after several children died in Madhya Pradesh due to a contaminated cough syrup.Once approved, the new legislation will grant the CDSCO authorities statutory power to ensure strict quality checks and surveillance of drugs, medical devices and cosmetics manufactured in India for both domestic use and export, the sources said.Under the new law, they said, the CDSCO will be granted statutory powers for the first time to take immediate action against fake or substandard medicines.It will also include provisions to digitise the licensing process, enhance coordination among state-level regulators and upgrade testing lab capacities.The new law will replace the Drugs and Cosmetics Act of 1940, and it is being developed in line with international standards. The aim is to ensure accountability and transparency at every stage -- from manufacturing to market distribution.The problem of fake and substandard medicines has been a major concern for the authorities.According to the 2023-24 report by the CDSCO, out of approximately 5,500 drug samples tested, 3.2 per cent were found to be substandard or spurious, a source said, adding that in the past two years, over 40 pharmaceutical units have faced action.