Reporting snapshot · 20 March 2026. The five-day pause is still nominally in force; both governments say they will resume operations immediately if the other side attacks.
What Kabul alleged
Afghanistan’s Taliban-led defence ministry accused Pakistani forces of violating the Eid pause in fighting, saying on Thursday that civilians had been killed in attacks in border areas. Afghanistan observed Eid on Thursday, a day before Pakistan, which marked the festival on Saturday 21 March. Kabul’s statement was circulated on social media and reported by Arab News and Dawn.
The accusation landed on the second day of a pause that Pakistan had announced on Wednesday, 18 March, in view of Eidul Fitr and at the request of “brotherly Islamic countries.” Kabul had followed with its own suspension of operations hours later. Both sides had cited de-escalation requests from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkiye, as reported when the five-day Eid pause was announced.
Pakistan’s response
Pakistan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting rejected the claim in a post on X from its “fact check” account on Friday, 20 March. “The claim of so-called Ministry of Defence/spokesperson of Taliban regime that Pakistan has violated the temporary pause — initiated itself by Pakistan in view of Eidul Fitr — is frivolous,” the ministry said. “No violation of the temporary pause has taken place along the western border by Pakistan and all such claims are absolutely false.”
The ministry suggested the claim may have come from “detractors within [the] Taliban regime, aimed at creating false pretext for some Afghan Taliban regime-directed terrorism or other action.” It reiterated Pakistan’s warning that “any act of terrorism, cross-border attack, drone attack, etc by [the] Afghan Taliban regime and its proxies will result [in] forthwith termination of the temporary pause and immediate resumption of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq with renewed intensity.”
Why it matters
The exchange shows how fragile the truce remains barely 48 hours into its five-day window. Operation Ghazab lil-Haq was launched on the night of 26 February, after what Islamabad described as unprovoked firing from across the border, and the current escalation has been among the worst in years, with air and drone strikes and cross-border firing along the roughly 2,600-kilometre frontier. Pakistan says its strikes target militant infrastructure; Kabul says civilians have been killed, including at a former Nato base near Kabul that locals identified as a drug-treatment centre.
Information Minister Attaullah Tarar had warned when announcing the pause that “in case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, Operation Ghazab lil-Haq shall immediately resume with renewed intensity.” No formal negotiations between Islamabad and Kabul have taken place during the crisis, even as China, Turkiye and Gulf states have urged restraint. A comparable round of clashes last year ended in a ceasefire mediated by Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye.
What is still uncertain
It is not clear whether the alleged border incidents can be independently verified, or whether either side will treat them as sufficient to end the pause before its nominal expiry. The truce’s five-day window and the absence of direct talks make a longer arrangement unlikely in the near term. It also remains unknown whether the mediators can convert the Eid pause into a durable ceasefire, or whether fighting resumes along the Durand Line once the holiday period ends.
Sources & reporting notes
An original synthesis of contemporaneous Pakistani and regional reporting, not eyewitness reconstruction. Sources were reviewed on 20 March 2026.
- Dawn — "Govt rubbishes Afghan Taliban's 'frivolous' claim of Pakistan violating truce"Published 20 March 2026 · Primary report for the Information Ministry's fact-check statement, its full quotation and the warning that Operation Ghazab lil-Haq would resume with renewed intensity.
- Arab News Pakistan — "Pakistan rejects Afghan Taliban claim it breached Eid pause in cross-border fighting"Published 20 March 2026 · Context on Kabul's allegation that civilians were killed, the 2,600-kilometre frontier, the 26 February launch of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq and the absence of formal talks.
