ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) announced on Thursday that the temporary pause in Operation Ghazab lil-Haq against the Afghan Taliban has ended, and the military campaign will continue “until its objectives are achieved,” FO spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said during his weekly press briefing.
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Launched on the night of February 26 in response to cross-border firing by the Afghan Taliban, the operation targets terrorist leadership, support networks, infrastructure, logistics, and facilitators operating within Taliban-controlled areas. Andrabi noted that the pause, observed in deference to Eidul Fitr celebrations and at the request of “brotherly Islamic countries,” concluded between March 23 and 24.
He emphasized that Pakistan’s position remains anchored in its policy of countering terror networks, stating, “Operations will continue until the Afghan Taliban regime reviews its misplaced priority of supporting terror infrastructures and terror proxies over the welfare of their own Afghan people.”
Earlier, Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid had announced a temporary suspension of military operations against Pakistan, also in response to appeals from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Qatar. Clerics from both Pakistan and Afghanistan had requested an extension of the Eid ceasefire to Eidul Azha.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021, Pakistan has repeatedly urged the Afghan administration to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries, particularly those linked to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Authorities claim these requests have largely gone unheeded, contributing to a resurgence of terrorism in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Torkham border crossing reopened on Thursday to facilitate the return of stranded Afghan nationals. Approximately 50 Afghans, lodged at a mosque in Landi Kotal since February 26, were the first batch to undergo registration at a temporary transit center. Another 100 were later processed from Peshawar. Authorities allowed families with expired documents to return to Afghanistan after completing necessary clearances. Pakistani authorities also coordinated with Afghan counterparts to ensure the safe repatriation of Pakistani nationals stranded near the border.
