India, Oct. 15 -- Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to a 48-hour ceasefire on Wednesday evening after a day of intense cross-border fighting that left dozens dead and many others wounded, media reports said.

The ceasefire, which began at 6 pm PKT (6:30 pm IST), came after the bloodiest violence between the two neighbours in recent years.

Pakistan claimed that Afghanistan had requested the ceasefire, although Kabul has not yet issued any statement confirming this or commenting on the truce.

Islamabad strongly denied Taliban accusations that its forces had targeted civilians, after Kabul reported that at least 12 people were killed and over 100 were injured in airstrikes on southern Kandahar.

In response, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah M...