India, Oct. 16 -- Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said that "the ball is in the Afghan Taliban's court" for a permanent ceasefire. This comes a day after a 48-hour truce was called in the wake of deadly cross-border clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

PM Sharif also said that if Afghanistan wants to resolve the issue and address Pakistan's demands in 48 hours, "then we are ready for them." He also reiterated that Pakistani Taliban militants should be eliminated and that Afghan territory should not be used to plot attacks.

Tensions rose between Afghanistan and Pakistan for the second time in a week on Wednesday when overnight clashes were reported, which led to the death of dozens of civilians and troops. As the ...