ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday announced a “temporary pause” in its military operation against Afghanistan ahead of Eid Al-Fitr, calling its gesture in line with Islamic norms while warning of a forceful response to any cross-border attacks, as its military said it used precision-guided munitions to avoid civilian casualties.
The two countries have been locked in their worst fighting in decades, with Islamabad accusing the Afghan Taliban of harboring militants responsible for cross-border attacks, a charge Kabul denies.
Tensions between the two countries rose further this week after Afghan authorities accused Pakistan of targeting a Kabul hospital via airstrikes Monday night, saying over 400 people were killed and 250 were injured.
However, a top army officer defended the strike on a local news channel, saying it targeted ammunition storage and drone facilities.
“In view of the upcoming Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Fitr, upon its own initiative as well as on the request from the brotherly Islamic countries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the State of Qatar and the Republic of Türkiye, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has decided to announce temporary pause amidst ongoing ‘Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq’ against the terrorists and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan,” Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said in a post on X.
“The pause shall be applicable from midnight 18/19 March 2026 to midnight 23/24 March 2026,” he continued. “Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms. However, in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, ‘Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq’ shall immediately resume with renewed intensity.”
In a separate post, Tarar said Pakistan had killed 707 militants and Afghan Taliban fighters and injured over 900 since the start of its campaign last month.
He also said 81 militant and militant support infrastructure locations across Afghanistan had been effectively targeted by air.
The army spokesperson, Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said in an interview with Geo News later in the day that “secondary detonations” captured in videos in the wake of the Kabul strike endorsed Pakistan’s account of targeting an ammunition depot and drone storage facilities.
“We have been using precision-guided munitions,” he said. “We have not used the general purpose bombs.”
He added this was despite the fact that it was cheaper to use general-purpose bombs, but they caused collateral damage.
“We are being very careful,” he said while reiterating that Pakistan was only using precision strikes against “the terrorist support infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, Afghanistan’s Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani signaled a preference for de-escalation, saying Kabul wanted to resolve the crisis through talks.
“We do not want war,” he told mourners at a mass burial of victims from this week’s strikes in Kabul.
“But the situation has come to this, so we are trying to solve the problems through diplomacy.”
The announcement of a temporary pause comes amid international calls for restraint, with regional powers urging both sides to avoid further escalation and return to dialogue.
