By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited General Headquarters in Rawalpindi on Friday, receiving a detailed briefing from military leaders on the tense situation along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border following unprovoked attacks by Afghan Taliban forces the previous day.
The visit came hours after Pakistan’s armed forces launched operation Ghazab lil-Haq in response to the cross-border firing. According to a handout issued by the Prime Minister’s Office, Sharif told the military leadership that Pakistan would adopt zero tolerance toward the nexus between the Afghan Taliban regime and what the state calls Fitna al Khawarij — a term used for terrorists affiliated with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan.“The actions of the Afghan Taliban regime and Fitna al Khawarij against Pakistan are unacceptable.”
Sharif said the country’s armed forces, under the leadership of Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, stood ready to defend the nation at all times. “Pakistan knows how to defend itself against any aggression,” he asserted. Sharif praised the professional capabilities of the armed forces for repelling the attacks in the border areas and for retaliating vigorously. “The entire nation stands with the armed forces for protecting the homeland,” he said.
Pakistani forces destroyed several key Afghan Taliban posts during the operation. Following the strikes, Afghan Taliban fighters reportedly raised white flags at multiple positions. The forces used artillery and quadcopters to target the positions, significantly weakening their defenses. The military carried out a coordinated and effective operation that resulted in significant losses for the Afghan Taliban: at least 274 killed and more than 400 injured.
Sharif, along with President Asif Ali Zardari, issued strong statements reaffirming Pakistan’s resolve to defend its sovereignty. Pakistan has consistently promoted peace, but our integrity will never be compromised,” Sharif added. “The armed forces will resolutely confront any aggression, and the entire nation stands behind them.”
Zardari echoed those sentiments in a social media message, saying Pakistan would not compromise on peace or territorial integrity. Anyone who mistook the country’s pursuit of peace for weakness would face a strong, comprehensive and decisive response, he warned, adding that no one would be beyond the reach of the nation’s armed forces.
The Senate
The upper house of Parliament weighed in Friday as well. The Senate unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the unprovoked aggression by the Afghan Taliban and demanding that the neighboring country immediately cease all hostile actions and prevent the use of its soil for terrorism or aggression against Pakistan. The resolution, moved by Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader Sherry Rehman, described the recent cross-border actions as blatant violations of international law, established diplomatic norms and the principles of peaceful neighborly relations. It declared that any attempt to challenge Pakistan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity or national security would be met with a firm, proportionate and decisive response.
For more than 40 years, the resolution stated, Pakistan had borne extraordinary economic, social and security burdens in hosting millions of Afghan nationals, extending humanitarian assistance, facilitating peace efforts and advocating for Afghanistan’s stability — often at great cost to its own development and security. “Instead of reciprocal goodwill, Pakistan continued to face hostile rhetoric, cross-border violations, and the persistent presence of anti-Pakistan terrorist elements operating from Afghan soil,” it said, expressing deep disappointment at what it called a pattern of ingratitude.
While Pakistan remained committed to constructive engagement and regional peace, the resolution warned that its patience must not be misconstrued as weakness. It demanded that the Afghan Taliban regime honor its international obligations, cease hostile actions and end the use of Afghan territory for attacks against Pakistan. The Senate also called on the international community to urge the regime to adhere to global norms.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf parliamentary leader Barrister Syed Ali Zafar told the Senate that “Pakistan always comes first” and that the entire nation stood united against terrorism. In case of aggression, he said, the nation had both the right and the resolve to respond decisively in defense of its sovereignty. Zafar added that since Pakistan’s birth, India and Israel had tried to damage it. “These two nations came together and decided a long time ago that they would use Afghanistan’s soil to destabilise Pakistan,” he said.
He referred to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as “two well-known criminals of the world” engaged in actions in Gaza and occupied Kashmir, and accused them of using Afghan soil against Pakistan. “If any country commits terrorism on Pakistani soil, then it deserves full and mighty retaliation,” Zafar said. “No aggressor can be spared.”
The Foreign Office
The Foreign Office issued its own warning Friday, stating that any further provocation by the Afghan Taliban regime and associated terrorist groups would be met with a measured, decisive and befitting response. Pakistan’s actions, the Foreign Office said, were a direct reply to repeated terrorist attacks by Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan — the latter a designation for Balochistan-based terrorist organizations — emanating from Afghan soil, as well as the latest provocative actions by the Taliban regime.
The armed forces carried out precise operations on the night of Feb. 26, the statement said, inflicting heavy losses on terrorist outfits and targeting their logistical support bases in Afghanistan. The moves were taken in exercise of Pakistan’s right to self-defense to ensure the safety of its citizens and the wider region.
The Foreign Office reiterated Pakistan’s desire for peace and stability, noting that the country had patiently engaged in political and diplomatic efforts to address terrorism from Afghan soil. “However, it is unfortunate that Pakistan’s numerous goodwill gestures and highly responsible approach were misconstrued,” it said, resulting in increased attacks with the backing of the Taliban regime and India. Pakistan, the statement added, held the right to take all appropriate actions in self-defense in accordance with international law, including the U.N. Charter. It called on the Afghan regime to end the impunity enjoyed by the designated terrorist groups and expressed hope that the international community would press Kabul to fulfill its obligations.
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