Pakistan suspends military operations against Afghanistan for five days

Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to a temporary “pause” in hostilities during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr this week, officials said, amid weeks of deadly violence between the neighbouring countries, Al Jazeera reports.

Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the pause – set to run from midnight on Thursday (19:00 GMT on Wednesday) until midnight on Tuesday (19:00 GMT on Monday) – had been requested by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye.

“Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms,” Tarar wrote in a social media post.

However, he warned that “in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, [operations] shall immediately resume with renewed intensity”.

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

The pause in fighting is set to begin just days after Afghanistan accused the Pakistani military of killing hundreds of people in an air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in the country’s capital, Kabul.

Pakistan has “strongly” rejected the claim that it is responsible for the attack, telling Al Jazeera Arabic this week that it only targets “terrorist infrastructure and military locations”.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that it had recorded 143 deaths in the incident at the Omar Addiction Treatment Hospital, a 2,000-bed facility. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the death toll.

Pakistan suspends military operations against Afghanistan for five days

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