Pakistan says it will continue military operation against Militants in Afghanistan

Pakistan said on Thursday it would continue its military operation against the Kabul administration after a temporary Eid ceasefire expired.

Pakistan said on Thursday it had resumed its “Ghazaab-ul-Haq” military operation against what it called militant hideouts in Afghanistan after a temporary Eid al-Fitr ceasefire expired, dimming hopes for a longer truce between the two neighbors. Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi said the pause had ended and operations had restarted in a “targeted” manner.

Islamabad says the operation, launched on the night of Feb. 25, is aimed at infrastructure and sanctuaries used by militants behind attacks inside Pakistan, particularly the Pakistani Taliban, or TTP. Pakistani officials have accused the Afghan Taliban of allowing militants to operate from Afghanistan soil, a charge Kabul has repeatedly denied.

The Taliban accused Pakistan during Eid of violating the ceasefire, while Pakistani officials said their forces were acting in response to cross-border attacks and what they called provocations from Afghanistan territory. The latest resumption of hostilities follows weeks of the worst fighting between the two sides in years.

The truce had been brokered with mediation from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar, all of which pushed for de-escalation after a sharp military escalation in late February and March. Pakistan has said the pause was also requested by the mediating states, though neither side has signaled a durable political breakthrough.

Religious scholars and clerics in the region have also urged both sides to halt the fighting at least until Eid al-Adha, warning that continued conflict would deepen civilian suffering and further destabilize the border region. But with mutual accusations and little trust between Islamabad and Kabul, those appeals have so far struggled to gain traction.

The current crisis marks a dramatic deterioration in ties between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban, once close allies. Pakistan has increasingly blamed Kabul for sheltering TTP fighters responsible for a wave of deadly attacks since 2022, while the Taliban says it does not allow Afghanistan territory to be used against any other country.

The violence has also raised humanitarian concerns after major Pakistani strikes in Afghanistan this month, including one in Kabul that Taliban officials said hit a rehabilitation center and caused mass casualties, a claim Islamabad rejected. International actors including the United Nations, European Union and regional states have repeatedly called for restraint and dialogue.

The renewed operation suggests the fragile Eid truce has failed to halt a broader slide toward sustained confrontation. Unless both sides can restore confidence through mediation or direct talks, the conflict risks becoming an entrenched and highly destabilizing front in the region.

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