Taliban suffering major blows in Pakistan’s cross-border Operation Ghazab Lil Haq

WEB DESK: Operation Ghazab Lil Haq entered its eighth consecutive day on Friday, with Pakistani security forces continuing extensive ground and aerial operations against the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij, a term used by authorities for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

According to The Express Tribune, the military has maintained sustained land and air actions throughout the operation. Officials state that the strategy has inflicted significant losses on Afghan Taliban operatives, forcing many fighters to retreat from forward positions.

As of Friday, sources reported that 527 operatives associated with the Afghan Taliban regime had been killed, while more than 755 others had been injured since the launch of the campaign. In addition, 237 military check posts were reportedly destroyed during the course of the operation.

Officials further indicated that Pakistani forces captured 38 posts before subsequently demolishing them. Security sources also claimed that 205 tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery systems belonging to Afghan Taliban forces were destroyed. During the aerial phase of the operation, 62 locations across Afghanistan were reportedly targeted. Authorities described the strikes as “effective and decisive actions” carried out in response to what they termed unprovoked aggression by the Afghan Taliban.

The operation also targeted militant hideouts located along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border in areas adjoining the Zhob and Qila Saifullah sectors. According to officials, Afghan Taliban fighters abandoned several positions and fled under sustained artillery fire.

Security sources said heavy artillery was used to strike posts held by the Afghan Taliban and Fitna al-Khawarij elements during the operation. Officials emphasised that Operation Ghazab Lil Haq will continue until its stated objectives are achieved.

Border fighting triggers displacement

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported that the escalating clashes have forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border. In a statement, the agency said that ongoing fighting has displaced large numbers of families on both sides of the frontier.

“The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan remains tense amid active conflict along the border, with reports of internal displacement in both countries,” the agency noted.

UNHCR estimates that around 115,000 people in Afghanistan and approximately 3,000 in Pakistan have been displaced as a result of the continuing hostilities.