UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for an immediate ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan
United States President Donald Trump hailed Pakistan’s strikes against the Afghan Taliban regime under ‘Operation Ghazab Lil Haq’ on Friday, saying the country was “doing terrifically well”.
Earlier on Friday, Pakistani forces targeted key military installations of the Afghan Taliban regime in Kabul, Kandahar, and Paktia through effective airstrikes. The military spokesperson said the ongoing operation was producing the desired results, with insurgents effectively repulsed at 53 locations along the border, inflicting heavy losses while exercising restraint to avoid civilian harm.
The government later updated that a total of 297 enemies were killed, more than 450 were reported injured, 89 Afghan Taliban posts were destroyed and 18 captured, 135 Afghan Taliban regime tanks and armed personnel carriers were destroyed while 29 locations across Afghanistan were subjected to aerial strikes.
Speaking to reporters today before heading to Texas, Trump was asked about Pakistan’s response to what it described as unprovoked aggression by the Afghan Taliban.
Asked whether anyone had requested him to intervene, Trump said, “Well, I would, but I get along with Pakistan, as you know, very well. Very, very well.
“[They] have a great prime minister, a great general there, a great leader … two of the people I really respect a lot,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir, both of whom he has praised and expressed admiration for multiple times in the past.
“And I think that Pakistan is doing terrifically well,” he added about his thoughts on the situation.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire between Pakistan and Afghanistan after fierce fighting broke out between the neighbouring countries.
Guterres “is deeply concerned by the escalation of violence we’re seeing between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the impact that violence is having on civilian populations”, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
“He calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, and he reiterates his call on the parties to resolve any differences through diplomacy,” the spokesman added.
Separately, The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also called for de-escalation between Afghanistan and Pakistan, insisting that civilians must be protected and healthcare access guaranteed.
“We are witnessing a profound escalation of hostilities between Afghanistan and Pakistan,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement, calling for “restraint and de-escalation”.
She highlighted that the upsurge in violence was harming people in a region that had “already endured decades of conflict, displacement and loss”.
“They have seen and felt the impact of war on their loved ones in their communities,” she said.
