Islamabad, March 18 Pakistan announced a "temporary pause" in its ongoing operation against the Afghan Taliban on Wednesday, in view of Eid and at the request of several countries, a day after the Afghan government accused Islamabad of killing 400 people in an attack on a rehabilitation hospital in Kabul.
Information Minister Ataullah Tarar made the announcement on X, hours after Pakistan carried out fresh attacks on alleged Taliban positions in the border region.
"In view of the upcoming Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, and upon its own initiative as well as on the request from the brotherly Islamic countries" of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye, Pakistan has decided to announce a temporary pause amidst ongoing Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq, he said.
Tarar said the pause would be applicable from "midnight March 18/19 to midnight March 23/24". He, however, added that in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, the operation will immediately resume.
Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil Haq on February 26 in response to alleged attacks by the Afghan Taliban forces along the 2,600-km-long border. So far, at least 684 Afghan Taliban personnel have been killed, and more than 912 have been injured, according to the Pakistani government.
Security forces carried out strong "retaliatory actions" against the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij in the South Waziristan sector under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, sources said.
"From Shawal to Zarmalan, all identified Taliban positions were destroyed during the operation," an official claimed, adding that the intense military response forced Afghan Taliban terrorists to retreat and flee.
Operation Ghazab lil-Haq will continue until all its objectives are fully achieved, the official said.
In a separate incident, the security forces foiled an infiltration attempt in the North Waziristan sector, killing multiple militants and destroying their hideouts.
The Pakistan Army carried out an operation in the border area of Mowa Khel, where militants linked to the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij were planning to infiltrate Pakistani territory, an official said.
Fitna al-Khawarij is a term the state uses to refer to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
"During the operation, several militants were killed, while others were forced to abandon their posts and flee the area," the official added.
"The Afghan Taliban regime will have to decide whether it stands with terrorists or with Pakistan," Tarar said while talking to Geo News.
Deputy Spokesman of the Afghan Taliban-led government, Hamdullah Fitrat, on Tuesday said that Monday night's bombardment by Pakistan targeted a drug rehabilitation centre in the Afghan capital, resulting in the death of at least 400 people. He said 250 others were injured.
Rejecting the claims, Tarar said the allegations were baseless.
"The Afghan Taliban regime attempted to build a false narrative of an attack on a hospital," he said, maintaining that Pakistan’s operations are aimed at militant hideouts and infrastructure.
"Pakistan's position is clear — terrorist sanctuaries must be eliminated," Tarar said. "Where we carried out strikes, ammunition was stored, and the subsequent explosions are evidence of that."
The minister also claimed that the Afghan Taliban had removed “false posts” related to the alleged strikes. “The Afghan Taliban regime had to delete misleading posts,” he said.
Afghanistan on Wednesday held a mass funeral for those killed in the attack. Speaking at the funeral ceremony, Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani called the attack "a highly despicable and lowly act against humanity and Islamic principles," Tolo News reported.