Afghan Red Crescent Society volunteers stand near the coffins of victims of a Pakistani air strike on a drug rehabilitation centre, during a mass burial at the Badam Bagh Hilltop, in Kabul, on March 18, 2026. WAKIL KOHSAR / AFP
Pakistan announced a "temporary pause" in hostilities with Afghanistan to mark the end of Ramadan on Wednesday, March 18, after Kabul promised to avenge the deaths of hundreds killed in a strike on a Kabul drug treatment centre.
The Eid al-Fitr truce, which is set to last from Thursday to Monday, had been requested by "brotherly Islamic countries" Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, information minister Attaullah Tarar said. "Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms," he wrote on X. There was no immediate response from the Taliban authorities.
However, he warned: "In case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, [operations] shall immediately resume with renewed intensity." Pakistan has accused Kabul of harbouring extremists behind cross-border attacks on its territory. Afghanistan has denied doing so.
'You will see the consequences of your crimes'
