Pakistan And Afghanistan Agree To Pause War For Eid At Qatar, Saudi And Turkey's Request

 

New Delhi : Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to a "temporary pause" in the ongoing conflict in view of Eid al-Fitr to be celebrated in both countries on Friday or Saturday, depending on the sighting of the crescent.

Pakistan Information Minister Ataullah Tarar said the decision was taken at the "request of brotherly Islamic countries" as he announced the pause in a social media post on Wednesday.

"In view of the upcoming Islamic festival of Eidul 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 Turkiye, 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," Tarar wrote on X.

Tarar said the pause would be applicable from "midnight March 18/19 to midnight March 23/24". "Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms," he added, as per Dawn.

 

"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," he warned.

Shortly after Pakistan's announcement, a spokesperson for Afghanistan’s Taliban government also said it would temporarily suspend military operations against Islamabad.

Afghan Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said in a social media post the decision was made in response to requests from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Qatar.

 

pause comes days after Afghanistan accused the Pakistani military of killing over 400 people in an air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul. Pakistan rejected the claim and said it only targets “terrorist infrastructure and military locations”.

 

Meanwhile, in a separate social media post, Pakistan's information minister said over 700 militants had been killed and more than 938 injured in the ongoing operation against Afghanistan.

Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are at their lowest point in the four years since the group came to power.