ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has announced a temporary five-day pause in its military campaign, Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, targeting militants in Afghanistan ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said.
In a statement shared on social media platform X, Tarar said the ceasefire was announced on Pakistan’s own initiative and at the request of “brotherly Islamic countries” including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.
The pause will take effect from midnight between March 18 and 19 and remain in place until midnight between March 23 and 24.
“Pakistan is undertaking this pause in good faith and in line with Islamic principles,” Tarar said, adding that the operation would “resume immediately” in the event of any cross-border attack, including drone strikes or militant activity.
Pakistan maintains that the operation is aimed at “terrorists and their support infrastructure” operating from Afghan territory.
In a separate Ghazab lil-Haq operational update, the information minister said that 707 militants had been killed and more than 938 injured since the campaign began, while 255 posts were destroyed and 44 captured.
He added that 237 tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns had been destroyed, and 81 locations across Afghanistan linked to militant networks had been targeted in air strikes.
According to the military, strikes carried out on March 16 targeted Afghan military installations in Kabul and Nangarhar, including alleged drone storage facilities, technical infrastructure and ammunition depots said to be used by Taliban fighters to launch attacks against Pakistani civilians.
The military also said that militant positions in Bajaur, Kurram, Torkham in Khyber district, and North and South Waziristan were targeted during the operation.
Pakistan denied targeting civilians, stating that the strikes were conducted with precision against installations and camps “directly or indirectly supporting terrorism,” and rejected what it termed “false claims” by Afghan authorities and some media outlets.