Operation Ghazab Lil Haq will continue until Taliban stops supporting terrorists (state media)

A senior Pakistani security official said Monday that “Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq” will continue until the Afghan Taliban government provides a guarantee that it will stop facilitating terrorist groups targeting Pakistan, state broadcaster reported. Radio Pakistan reported.

“Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq will continue until the Afghan Taliban government provides Pakistan with verifiable assurances that it will cease facilitating Fitna al-Khwarij And Fitna al-Hindustan” the official told reporters.

Operation Ghazab-Lil-Haq was launched on Thursday evening after renewed clashes along the Pakistan-Afghan border, when Afghan Taliban forces fired on several locations, provoking rapid military retaliation. Pakistani security forces killed 435 Afghan Taliban fighters and destroyed 188 tanks and vehicles during the operation. More than 630 Afghan personnel were injured, 188 tanks and armored vehicles were destroyed, 31 Afghan posts were captured and 51 sites across Afghanistan were successfully targeted in airstrikes.

The official said the Afghan Taliban “will have to decide whether to stand with Pakistan or with terrorist groups operating from their soil.”

The duration of the operation will depend entirely on the steps taken by the Afghan Taliban authorities, he added, stressing that Pakistan was “in no hurry to conclude the operation.”

The official accused the Afghan Taliban government of supporting several terrorist groups “as proxy masters,” alleging they were sabotaging regional peace.

He said the Taliban were promoting a “war economy under the guise of a distorted religious ideology, whose real motivations are vested interests and financial gains.”

According to the official, Pakistan was targeting terrorist safe havens and facilitators in Afghanistan, describing them as legitimate targets under the right of self-defense.

He stressed that the operations were not indiscriminate and limited to specific infrastructure used to support militant groups.

So far, the official said more than 180 checkpoints had been destroyed and more than 30 key locations taken under control, which he said were being used as launching pads by terrorists.

The official said Pakistan’s actions had received a positive response from “oppressed Afghan communities and minorities.”

He clarified that Pakistan has “nothing to do with any change of government in Afghanistan”, calling it an internal matter of the Afghan people.

On Iran, the official said Pakistan was pursuing a balanced policy and Tehran appreciated Islamabad’s position, which he said was also supported by China and Russia.

He said Pakistan had expressed reservations over Iran’s targeting of “brotherly Arab countries” and reiterated that Islamabad wanted a stable and peaceful Iran.

The official dismissed suggestions that Pakistan could be the next target of regional escalation, calling the claims “baseless and contrary to ground reality.”

Learn more: 435 Afghan fighters killed, 188 tanks and vehicles destroyed during Operation Ghazab Lil Haq: Tarar

He added that Pakistan and Iran cannot be considered identical in terms of military capability, foreign policy or domestic conditions.

He 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.

Citing what he described as “Marka e Haq” and Pakistan’s long war against terrorism, the official said the armed forces, with public support, would foil “all nefarious plots of the enemy.”

He condemned what he called propaganda aimed at creating chaos and stressed that Pakistan valued its long-standing strategic relationship with Saudi Arabia.

On the proposed International Stabilization Force for Gaza, he said the details were not yet finalized and any decision on Pakistan’s participation would be taken by the government after consultations.

The latest escalation in tensions between the two countries follows a series of retaliatory actions over the past year.

Pakistan had earlier carried out airstrikes against camps of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State’s Khorasan province in Afghanistan after a wave of attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing in Islamabad.

Read also: Pakistan launches cross-border strikes on seven terror camps after bomb blasts

Islamabad has long maintained that TTP leaders operate from Afghan territory, an allegation that Kabul has repeatedly denied.

Tensions also increased after a series of explosions in Kabul on October 9 last year. Taliban forces then targeted areas along the Pakistani border, prompting Islamabad to respond with cross-border bombings. The exchanges caused casualties and damage to infrastructure on both sides and led to the suspension of trade after the closure of border crossings on October 12, 2025.