Pakistan has resumed military operations against Afghanistan after a brief Eid ceasefire, officials said on Thursday, dampening hopes of a lasting truce following the worst cross-border fighting in years.
Violence between Pakistan and Afghanistan escalated last month, with heavy casualties reported on both sides. Afghan authorities said more than 400 people were killed in a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre in Kabul last week, before hostilities were paused.
Pakistan rejected the Taliban’s account, saying it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”.
The ceasefire coincided with the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr and, according to Islamabad, was requested by Türkiye, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
“The pause concluded at midnight between March 23 and 24,” foreign ministry spokesperson Tahir Andrabi said at a weekly briefing. He added that operations would continue until objectives were met and urged the Afghan Taliban administration to reconsider what he described as its “misplaced priority” of supporting militant networks.
Islamabad accuses the Afghan Taliban of harbouring Islamist militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegation, saying militancy is a domestic issue for Pakistan.
Trade at key border crossings has been suspended since Pakistan launched air strikes in October.
The Torkham crossing in north-west Pakistan reopened temporarily on Thursday, allowing hundreds of Afghan refugees to return home, officials said.
Pakistan hosts more than two million Afghan refugees who have fled decades of conflict. Authorities are pressing undocumented Afghans to leave, citing links to militancy and crime.
The repatriation effort forms part of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023. The United Nations has criticised the policy, warning that forced returns may breach international obligations.
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Saudi Arabia said its overnight strikes on Iran-backed group targets in Iraq were carried out in self-defence and warned it would take further military action if the groups launched new attacks against the kingdom.
Yemen warned the Houthis were seeking to replicate Iran's Strait of Hormuz strategy in the Red Sea, as U.S. President Donald Trump said there was a "good chance" of a deal with Tehran but warned strikes could resume if talks failed.
Moscow should stop linking Russia-Armenia relations to Azerbaijan, Baku's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada has said, after Russia again raised the Collective Security Treaty Organisation's role during the former Garabagh conflict.
Pakistani businesses are warning that growing difficulties in obtaining United Arab Emirates (UAE) visas are disrupting trade, delaying investment and limiting access to a key export market, despite both Islamabad and Abu Dhabi saying there is no official visa ban.
A fire involving two gas vessels at Egypt's Damietta port has prompted conflicting reports over whether the incident was caused by a drone strike or an onboard technical fault. Egyptian authorities said there were no casualties.
Pakistan has declared hepatitis C a national emergency and launched a nationwide campaign to screen more than 164 million people, as it steps up efforts to eliminate one of the world's largest hepatitis C burdens by 2030.
Afghan refugees in Pakistan are delaying or avoiding medical treatment because they fear arrest under the country's deportation policy, leading to preventable illnesses including child malnutrition and pregnancy complications, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
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Türkiye and Iraq have signed five agreements aimed at expanding cooperation in transport, infrastructure, education, youth, sports and industrial development. The deals were announced after talks between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi in Ankara.
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