'Righteous Fury': Operation Ghazab lil-Haq

The Ministry for Information and Broadcasting says that reports about strikes on Pakistani military sites are false, calling them an “unverified Taliban claim amplified as propaganda by fake pages and Indian media”.

“No evidence (satellite imagery, flight data, videos from the ground, or local eyewitnesses) has been provided to substantiate the claim,” the ministry’s fact check account on X stated.

It added that Afghanistan had no operational air force since the Taliban took power in 2021 and that no intrusions were detected by the “advanced air defence” system at the Nur Khan base in Rawalpindi.

The district administration has closed down 37 public and private sector schools in the border areas of Khyber.

According to an official statement, the decision was taken in light of constant provocations from the Afghan side during the last four to five days.

“Our primary concern is to safeguard the lives of students and the teaching staff in these schools,” the statement added.

It said that the institutions that would be closed included 29 boys’ schools and eight girls’ schools.

At least four persons, including a minor girl, were injured when a mortar shell fired from across the border fell near a residential compound in Landi Kotal.

According to the officials, the artillery shell fired from Afghanistan hit a congested locality in the Sadokhel area of Landi Kotal, minutes before Iftar.

They said that four people, including a minor girl, were hit by the shrapnel of the mortar shell and were immediately shifted to the local hospital, where their condition was stated to be out of danger.

Two more mortar shells fired from the Afghan side also hit the official residence of the Landi Kotal tehsildar. However, no loss of life was reported.

Ishaq Dar further says that Pakistan’s actions during the operation were “very cery careful”.

“In this operation, initially 22 locations in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika were subjected to aerial targeting and all these targets were military installations, which were carefully selected based on our intelligence,” Dar said in his press briefing.

“As a result of Pakistan’s befitting response to Afghan Taliban regime, valiant forces targeted 37 locations in Afghanistan, 415 Taliban regime personnel and khwarij were eliminated, 182 posts completely destroyed, 31 posts captured, 185 tanks and APCs destroyed.”

Ishaq Dar has said that Pakistan launched Operation Ghazab lil-Haq “in self-defence, carrying out precise and targeted operations against seven terrorist camps and hideouts belonging to the TTP and IS-KP in Afghanistan”.

The deputy prime minister asserted that Pakistan’s “actions were proportionate, minimum and measured, with careful planning in order to make sure that only the terrorist camps and hideouts are hit and civilian populations should not be targeted”.

Dar mentioned there were “provocative actions by the Afghan Taliban on 53 locations across 15 sectors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa” on the night of February 26.

“Now this is horrifying and this is totally lunatic. It’s like going mad,” he remarked, adding that such actions were “totally a no-go for Pakistan”.

Dar further says that the repeated terrorist activities originating from Afghan soil had “led us, forced us to now take it seriously”.

He recalled “high-profile” incidents, including the Islamabad court bombing, the coordinated BLA attacks across Balochistan and the February 6 imambargah suicide bombing.

“Pakistan has conclusive evidence that the recent acts of terrorism in Bajaur and Bannu were perpetrated by TTP at the behest of their Afghanistan-based leadership and handlers,” Dar asserted.

He added that prior to launching the ongoing operation, Pakistan “carried out intelligence-based selective targeting of seven terrorist camps and hideouts on February 21”.

Deputy PM Ishaq Dar has said Pakistan had no choice but to launch the ongoing operation after repeated terrorist attacks.

“We have the capacity, we have the will, we have the kinetic capability ot handle it in a very meaningful way. But we have been exercising extreme restraint and doing minimum reaction to what has been happening.

“What you are seeing is absolutely minimum in self-defence under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” he said, adding that Pakistan exercised “more care” as it was currently part of the UNSC as a non-permanent member.

Dar recalled the talks between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban held in Qatar and Turkiye after the October clashes. “But the outcome was nothing, nil,” he stated for both rounds of talks.

“So we had now no choice but to launch Operation Ghazab lil-Haq in response to repeated terrorist attacks by Fitna Al Khawarij and Fitna Al Hindustan against Pakistan emanating from Afghanistan soil, as well as the recent unwarranted and provocative actions by the Afghan Taliban regime on the night of 26th February,” Dar asserted.

Ishaq Dar reiterates that Pakistan’s only demand was: “Please do not allow the TTP, the BLA, the Majeed Brigade, which have been proscribed by many countries, to allow them or provide facilitation.

“This is the only issue we have. As long as it is handled, it is removed, we have no issue with Afghanistan.”

Dar asserted that Pakistan has “always been wishing to have the best of the best with relations with all neighbours, including particularly Afghanistan”.

The deputy PM then recalled “serious violations” that took place in October 2025, adding that soldiers were being martyred every week, which “is certainly not acceptable under any circumstances”.

Acknowledging that a religious decree had been issued by the Afghan Taliban regarding terrorism, Ishaq Dar noted, “But there is no verifiable action which would have actually endorsed that that fatwa (edict) is being implemented.”

“Things have been going fairly hot in the recent past,” Dar remarked, pointing out that Afghanistan and Pakistan had elevated their diplomatic relations last year.

Dar pointed out that Pakistan had facilitated Afghan-origin and Afghanistan-bound trucks to and from India during the May 2025 conflict with New Delhi.

He noted the agreement to extend the CPEC project to Afghanistan, the convening of the Joint Coordination Committee meeting on border and security issues, the grant of 4,500 scholarships to Afghan students, humanitarian relief assistance following an earthquake, a liberal visa regime for Afghans, and Pakistan’s “proactive” role in international forums on Afghanistan.

During his media talk, Ishaq Dar recalled the trilateral meeting of Pakistan, China and Afghanistan held in August 2025.

“That was again a positive meeting […] By the way, in all these meetings, Pakistan’s ask has only been one from Afghanistan — not a long wishlist — and that is please do not allow your soil to be used for terrorism against any neighbouring countries, particularly Pakistan.

“This is the only ask, right in April, July and August. And unfortunately, that has not been complied with.”

Dar said the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan (UAP) Railway Project, on which work had been underway since 2023 and an agreement was signed in July 2025, was now “in cold storage”.

Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar has stated that Pakistan “surely” wants good relations with all neighbours, but regretted that Islamabad’s “request” to not allow Afghan soil to be used for terrorist attacks on the country has not been complied with.

“We surely want good friendly relations with all our neighbourly countries and last year, I made three trips to Afghanistan,” he stated at a press conference in Islamabad.

Dar pointed out that the first trip to Kabul in April 2025 came after a gap of four years since the Afghan Taliban regime came to power.

He recalled: “With very open heart and mind, I discussed with them their economic issues, trade issues, political issues, refugee issues, anything they wished to touch upon.

“We were very open, we debated, we discussed, we took decisions […] I came back and we implemented everything we decided and promised with our Afghan friends.”

State broadcaster PTV has shared a video on X of security forces destroying an Afghan checkpost in Paktika.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has provided an update on Operation Ghazab lil-Haq. He said that 435 Afghan Taliban operatives had been killed while 630 had been injured.

He further stated that 188 checkposts had been destroyed while 31 had been captured. He further said 188 tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns had been destroyed while 51 locations across Afghanistan had been targeted by air.

The Pakistan armed forces have destroyed an ammunition depot in Khost as it continues its operation against the Afghan Taliban regime’s aggression, state-broadcaster PTV reports, citing security sources.

The district administration in North Waziristan has ordered the immediate closure of 33 educational institutions located in sensitive border areas, including 16 girls’ schools, until further notice as a precautionary measure in light of the prevailing security situation.

The affected institutions include girls’ schools as well as boys’ primary, middle, and high schools in the border tehsils of Dattakhel, Ghulam Khan, and Shewa, along with adjoining villages.

A senior district official stated, “Students’ safety is our top priority. Given the current circumstances, the temporary suspension of academic activities was unavoidable. Parents are requested to cooperate with the administration and restrict unnecessary movement of their children.”

District authorities said the security situation is being reviewed on a daily basis and that schools would be reopened in phases once conditions improve. Residents have been urged to avoid spreading rumours and to rely solely on official sources for updates.

At least 54 government schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mohmand district have been temporarily closed, according to an official notification.

The notification, issued from the office of the Deputy Commissioner Mohmand, stated that all listed schools located in the vulnerable border areas of Tehsil Baizai, Tehsil Khwezai and Tehsil Safi will remain closed until further orders.

Officials said the closures include one school in Ghalanai, 33 schools in Tehsil Baizai, 10 in Tehsil Safi and two in Tehsil Khwezai.

Authorities have not specified a reopening date, stating that educational activities will resume once the situation improves.

Authorities in Bajaur tribal district announced that 39 public sector schools in various border areas will remain closed until further orders due to the prevailing security situation.

According to the notification issued, the decision to keep the schools located in different areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border closed was taken at a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Shahid Ali Khan.

The notification, a copy of which is available with Dawn, stated that 39 schools located in the border areas of Lowi Mamund, War Mamund, and Nawagai tehsils will remain closed until further orders due to the prevailing security conditions.

It is worth noting that all public sector educational institutions in Bajaur, including schools and colleges, were set to reopen tomorrow after winter vacations.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) has crashed into a government school building in the district headquarters of Ghalanai, officials said, as tensions persisted along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border with reports of artillery fire and aerial activity.

No casualties were reported, and authorities said the incident did not cause significant structural damage. However, security in and around the compound was immediately tightened, and the area was cordoned off for inspection.

The drone, said to have approached from an unknown direction, struck the ventilator of a classroom at the Governor Model High School, located within the district headquarters Ghalanai compound near the deputy commissioner’s (DC’s) residence. Debris from the UAV was also found in the school’s veranda.

Confirming the incident, Mohmand DC Muhammad Yasir Hassan said security forces were “attempting to shoot down” another drone that was detected in the airspace.

Security sources claimed that drone sounds were also heard in parts of Ambar tehsil. Residents in some border areas also reported fighter jets flying overhead, intensifying fears in an already volatile environment.

A high-level meeting to review the regional and internal security situation of Pakistan was held in Islamabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair, according to Radio Pakistan.

The meeting took a detailed review of the prevailing regional environment and overall security dynamics in the region, the report said.

Pakistan’s role and various measures for the promotion of peace and stability in the region were also discussed, it said.

It added that the situation in Afghanistan also came under consideration in detail. Participants were also briefed on the country’s internal security situation and the arrangements in place to ensure law and order, it said.

President Asif Ali Zardari has urged the Hindu community in Pakistan to “celebrate the festival of Holi in a simple and restrained manner” this year, in view of the prevailing situation on the country’s western border and the wider regional tensions.

“While Pakistan takes pride in its religious and cultural diversity, the current circumstances call for moderation and reflection,” he said in a statement by the President’s Secretariat.

He appealed that “public festivities and large gatherings be toned down”, keeping in mind the security environment and the “need for national cohesion”.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar has provided an update on Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, saying 415 Afghan Taliban operatives had been killed while more than 580 had been injured.

He said that 182 Afghan checkposts had been destroyed, while 31 posts had been captured. Further, he said that 31 posts had been captured, and 185 tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery guns and artillery guns had been destroyed.

In an update, security sources said that on February 28, in broad daylight, Pakistani troops crossed the border fence near North Waziristan and advanced towards what was described as an Afghan Taliban central post inside Afghan territory.

Upon the approach of Pakistani forces, Afghan Taliban fighters reportedly fled the post, security sources said.

The Pakistani military subsequently took control of the central post and cleared surrounding compounds during what was described as a “full-scale retaliatory action”, removing flags hoisted by the opposing side.

Sources maintained that the operation remains ongoing, with forces continuing to consolidate their positions in the area.

A police official was martyred by unidentified assailants in the Main Bazaar area of the Tank district on Saturday night, police said.

The incident occurred in Gali Dak Khana area near a supermarket, where Head Constable Uzair was sitting at a shop when unknown gunmen opened fire on him. As a result of the firing, the officer was martyred on the spot.

Police officials said the attackers fled immediately after the incident. Upon receiving information, a heavy contingent of police reached the scene, cordoned off the area, collected forensic evidence, and launched a search operation to trace the suspects.

Federal Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal has refuted social media reports that Pakistan halted its operations against Afghan Taliban.

“The reality is the opposite. In view of the current regional situation, sharing Pakistan Air Force and drone footage with the media has been temporarily stopped. The purpose of this decision is to safeguard national security and operational strategy, not to halt the operations,” he wrote in a post on X.

“Operations continue unabated,” Fazal said, adding that the operation against terrorist elements was “advancing with full intensity and wisdom”.

Bannu District Police Officer (DPO) Yasir Afridi has confirmed to Dawn that the Fateh Khel police post was attacked today.

A policeman sustained minor injuries in the attack, which is said to have been carried out by militants.

According to police sources, after retaliatory fire by law enforcers, the attackers were forced to retreat.

The DPO said a search operation had been launched and raids were being carried out to locate and arrest any facilitators involved in the attack.