Government rejects Afghan Taliban claim that Pakistan broke truce

The Information Ministry on Friday rejected the Afghan Taliban’s allegation that Pakistan violated the temporary truce, calling it “frivolous.”

In a post on The pause, the ministry noted, was initiated by Pakistan in observance of Eidul Fitr.

The ministry’s “fact-checking” statement said there had been no violations of the temporary pause along the western border and that all such claims were completely false.

He suggested that the propaganda could have been spread by detractors within the Taliban regime to create a pretext for terrorism or other actions led by the Afghan Taliban.

The ministry emphasized that regardless of the source of these false claims, Pakistan has clearly stated that any act of terrorism, cross-border attack, drone strike or similar actions by the Afghan Taliban or its proxies would lead to immediate termination of the temporary pause and resumption of Operation Ghazab Lil Haq with renewed intensity.

The statement also shared a message from the Afghan Defense Ministry accusing Pakistan of violating the ceasefire on the first day of Eid, which Kabul observed on Thursday.

Read: Pakistan and Afghanistan agree to Eid truce and suspend military operations

On Wednesday, Pakistan and Afghanistan announced a temporary pause in hostilities ahead of Eidul Fitr, in what appears to be a rare de-escalation after days of escalating cross-border tensions.

The ceasefire, announced separately by Islamabad and Kabul, will remain in effect from midnight on March 18 and 19 to midnight on March 23 and 24, with both sides warning that any violation could trigger an immediate resumption of military operations.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the decision was taken in view of the upcoming Islamic festival and as a gesture of goodwill, as well as in response to requests from “brotherly Islamic countries,” including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye.

“In view of the upcoming Islamic festival of Eidul Fitr, on its own initiative as well as at the request of brotherly Islamic countries… the Government of Pakistan has decided to announce a temporary pause amid the ongoing ‘Operation Ghazab-lil-Haq’ against terrorists and their supporting infrastructure in Afghanistan,” the minister said in a statement.

He added that the pause was offered “in good faith and in accordance with Islamic rules” but made it clear that the truce was conditional.

“In case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or terrorist incident inside Pakistan, Operation Ghazab Lil Haq will immediately resume with renewed intensity,” the statement warned.

Read more: DG ISPR dismisses ‘ridiculous’ Afghan claim of attacking drug rehabilitation centre, says Pakistan attacked ammunition storage site

Earlier, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry dismissed what he said was the “ridiculous” claim that Pakistan had attacked a drug rehabilitation center in Afghanistan, saying the army had attacked an ammunition storage depot.

On Tuesday, Taliban regime deputy spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat claimed in a post on X that an airstrike had hit the Omid Addiction Treatment Hospital, killing up to 400 people in the Afghan capital overnight. However, Pakistan strongly rejected the Afghan Taliban’s claims, calling them “completely baseless” and part of a broader pattern of disinformation aimed at distorting facts.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had said that the attacks carried out were “precise, deliberate and professional”, and targeted only military and terrorist infrastructure linked to attacks inside Pakistan. Meanwhile, an official said Reuters Today the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan has put the death toll in the alleged incident at 143.