Operation Ghazab-Lil-Haq to continue until Taliban end terror support: Security sources

Security sources said that the ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq would continue until “credible guarantees and concrete steps” by the Afghan Taliban to halt their support for terrorists against Pakistan, state-run Radio Pakistan reported on Thursday.

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

Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said a day ago that all necessary measures would be taken to neutralise 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 organisations.

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

Security sources said Pakistan had no issue with Afghanistan or its people, adding that its sole concern was the Afghan Taliban regime, which they said was acting as a “central proxy master for terrorism in the region”.

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

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

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

“Scholars from all schools of thought have declared the struggle against these elements and their facilitators as a form of righteous jihad.”

According to the report, the security sources briefed the gathered journalists that Pakistan was targeting hideouts, facilitation centres and cross-border launch pads of terrorists groups, while rejecting reports suggesting that civilians were being targeted and describing such claims as contrary to facts.

“All operations are being conducted strictly on the basis of verified intelligence and are aimed only at terrorist infrastructure,” the the security sources said.

They noted that the Ministry of Information and security institutions were regularly informing the media and the public about the progress of the operation and releasing verified video reports, while asserting that false rumours were being spread by Afghan official social media accounts and Indian-backed media outlets during the operation

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

“The security forces updated that in addition to actions against terrorist hideouts inside Afghanistan, intelligence-based operations are continuing within Pakistan, with more than 200 such operations being conducted successfully on a daily basis,” the report said.

The security sources emphasised that national unity and full implementation of the National Action Plan were essential for eliminating terrorism.

“It was said that Pakistan believes 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 under threat in the context of the situation in Iran and the wider region are living 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 provided a guarantee that it would stop facilitating terrorist groups targeting Pakistan.

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

He had 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 also reported, quoting security sources, that the Pakistan Army destroyed the Afghan Taliban’s Brigade Headquarters of the 205 Corps in Kandahar in a successful airstrike.

Read: CDF Munir says all necessary measures to be taken for neutralising threat from Afghan border

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

It also said the Afghan Taliban had suffered heavy military losses during the ongoing operations with the army targeting 41 enemy posts with small and heavy weapons last night.

It added that the strikes were conducted in border areas adjacent to Chaman, Zhob, Qila Saifullah and Nushki sectors with reports of “heavy casualties and material losses” to the Afghan Taliban and TTP during the operations.

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

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

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

“The security sources said that operations under Ghazab Lil Haq will continue until the set targets are fully achieved,” the report said.

Russia calls for dialogue

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

In a statement, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was concerned about reports of clashes along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

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

Zakharova added that there had been casualties on both sides and that the civilian population was suffering, including Afghan refugees who had returned from neighbouring 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,” she said.