Pakistan and Afghanistan said they were pausing their military operations against each other yesterday for the Islamic festival of Eid Al Fitr, a surprise move two days after a drug rehab centre in Kabul was hit in the deadliest strike in months.
The Afghan Taliban government has said that more than 400 people were killed and 265 wounded in the air strike that took place on Monday night, just as people and staff at the centre were praying.
The casualty numbers shared by authorities have not been independently verified.
Pakistan rejected the Taliban’s statements about the strike, saying it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said Islamabad was pausing the military operations due to Eid.
The pause, he said in a post on X, was on Pakistan’s own initiative and at the request of Islamic countries Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Türkiye.
The pause was to take effect at midnight yesterday and last until Monday midnight.
The Afghan Taliban followed with a similar announcement soon after Tarar.
Kabul was calling a temporary halt to defensive operations on the occasion of Eid and also at the request of Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Qatar, Taliban government spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said in a post on X.
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