Ghazab-Lil-Haq operation will continue until Taliban ends terrorist support: security sources

Security sources said the ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq would continue until the Afghan Taliban gave “credible assurances and concrete steps” to stop their support for terrorists against Pakistan, the government said. Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.

Pakistan is currently waging ‘Operation Ghazab Lil Haq’ which was launched last Thursday after fresh clashes along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, when Afghan Taliban forces fired on multiple locations, prompting swift military retaliation. The neighbors have clashed along the border since last week, when Afghanistan launched a border offensive in response to Pakistani airstrikes.

Chief of Defense Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said a day ago that all necessary measures would be taken to neutralize the threat of terrorism emanating from across the border. He said the use of Afghan soil for acts of terrorism was unacceptable, adding that peace could only prevail between the two sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations.

Radio Pakistan reported that in a briefing for journalists from various districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) headquarters on the ongoing operation, “it was said that Operation Ghazab Lil Haq is a continuation of Pakistan’s ongoing war against terrorism and will continue until there are credible assurances and concrete steps by the Afghan Taliban regime to end sponsorship of terrorism.”

Security sources said Pakistan had no problem with Afghanistan or its people, adding that its only concern was the Afghan Taliban regime, which they said was acting as a “central power of terrorism in the region”.

They added that the regime had become a threat to regional peace and stability by facilitating multiple militant organizations.

“The Afghan Taliban regime will have to choose between Pakistan and sponsoring terrorist groups,” the report said.

Security sources said killing innocent civilians, violence against women and attacks on mosques or their use for terrorist activities were against Pakistan’s religious and social traditions, emphasizing that terrorists were promoting a “distorted and self-fabricated interpretation” of Islam while religion had nothing to do with terrorism or suicide attacks.

“Scholars of all schools of thought have declared the fight against these elements and their enablers as a form of just jihad.”

According to the report, security sources informed the assembled journalists that Pakistan was attacking hideouts, facilitation centers and cross-border launch pads of terrorist groups, while rejecting reports suggesting that civilians were being attacked and describing such claims as contrary to facts.

“All operations are carried out strictly on the basis of verified intelligence and are directed solely at terrorist infrastructure,” the security sources said.

They noted that the Ministry of Information and security institutions were regularly briefing the media and the public on the progress of the operation and releasing verified video reports, while claiming that official Afghan social media accounts and Indian-backed media outlets were spreading false rumors during the operation.

According to the report, security sources said groups facing persecution under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan had welcomed the operation, adding that intelligence-based operations were also continuing inside Pakistan.

“Security forces reported that in addition to actions against terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan, intelligence-based operations continue inside Pakistan, with more than 200 such operations being carried out successfully daily,” the report said.

Security sources emphasized that national unity and full implementation of the National Action Plan were essential to eliminate terrorism.

“Pakistan was said to believe in constructive and positive relations with all countries and remains fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Those who consider Pakistan’s security to be threatened in the context of the situation in Iran and the wider region live in a fool’s paradise,” the report said.

A senior Pakistani security official had similarly said on Monday that the operation would continue until the Afghan Taliban government offered a guarantee that it would stop facilitating terrorist groups to attack Pakistan.

On the issue of Iran, the official had rejected suggestions that Pakistan could be the next target of regional escalation, calling such claims “baseless and contrary to the reality on the ground.” He added that Pakistan and Iran cannot be considered identical in terms of military capabilities, foreign policy or internal conditions.

He said Pakistan remained committed to a strong foreign policy based on mutual respect and trust, and was fully capable of defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Operation updates

Separately, Radio Pakistan He also reported, citing security sources, that the Pakistan army destroyed the brigade headquarters of the Afghan Taliban’s 205 Corps in Kandahar in a successful airstrike.

Read: CDF Munir says all necessary measures must be taken to neutralize the threat from the Afghan border

“The Pakistan Army also attacked the ammunition depots of the Afghan Taliban in this effective operation. Sources said that the Afghan Taliban are facing heavy military losses in effective and powerful operations of the Pakistan Army,” the report added.

He also said that the Afghan Taliban had suffered heavy military losses during the ongoing operations in which the army attacked 41 enemy posts with small and heavy weapons last night.

It added that the attacks were carried out in border areas adjacent to the Chaman, Zhob, Qila Saifullah and Nushki sectors and “heavy casualties and material losses” were reported for the Afghan Taliban and the TTP during the operations.

He added that in a separate intelligence-based operation in the Arandu sector, the military carried out actions against an armed formation of the Afghan Taliban.

It cited security sources as saying that the “cowardly Afghan Taliban were forced to abandon their weapons at posts and flee” due to the army’s “vigorous operation.”

The sources added that the Afghan Taliban center was also completely destroyed during the operation.

“Security sources said that operations under the command of Ghazab Lil Haq will continue until the set objectives are fully achieved,” the report said.

Russia calls for dialogue

Meanwhile, Russia expressed concern over the ongoing fighting along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and called on both countries to avoid a military confrontation.

In a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow was concerned about reports of clashes along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

“In recent days, there have been reports of armed clashes with aircraft and heavy weapons in virtually the entire border area inhabited by Pashtun tribes,” he said.

Zakharova added that there were casualties on both sides and that civilians were suffering, including Afghan refugees who had returned from neighboring Pakistan and Iran.

“We once again call on Kabul and Islamabad to refrain from military confrontation and resolve their differences through dialogue based on mutual respect,” he said.