Afghanistan and Pakistan Announce Temporary Halt in Fighting Ahead of Eid

New Delhi: Pakistan and Afghanistan on Wednesday announced a “temporary pause” in fighting ahead of Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan. According to a senior Pakistani official, the action was taken in response to requests from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey. The news came only hours before Afghanistan hosted a large-scale funeral for victims of a recent hospital attack by Pakistan in Kabul. 

Pause Announced With Warning

Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the country would halt strikes on “terrorists and their support infrastructure" in Afghanistan during Eid. The pause will begin at midnight Wednesday and continue until midnight Monday.

Tarar said the decision was taken after appeals from “brotherly Islamic countries,” Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, and described it as a gesture made in good faith.

"Pakistan offers this gesture in good faith and in keeping with the Islamic norms," he said in a post on X. However, he also issued a warning: “In case of any cross-border attack, drone attack or any terrorist incident inside Pakistan, (operations) shall immediately resume with renewed intensity.”

Soon after Pakistan’s announcement, Afghanistan’s Taliban government also confirmed a temporary suspension of its military operations against Pakistan.

Mass Funeral Held in Kabul

The announcement of the ceasefire coincided with a large-scale funeral for the victims of a Pakistani attack on a hospital in Kabul. Around 400 people were killed and over 200 others were injured in the Monday night strike, according to Afghan authorities. In the ongoing hostilities between the two nations, it is reportedly the bloodiest occurrence to far.

Volunteers from the Afghan Red Crescent Society transported dozens of wooden coffins from ambulances to a sizable mass burial excavated into rocky earth on a rain-soaked hillside in Kabul.

Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani condemned the attackers and declared the victims innocent during his remarks at the funeral.

"Today is a sad day. I offer my condolences to Afghanistan, especially to the families of the martyrs," he said. He added, "We will take revenge," and warned: "We are not weak and helpless. You will see the consequences of your crimes."

At the same time, Haqqani signalled that the government still preferred dialogue over conflict. "We do not want war but the situation has come to this," he said. “So, we are trying to solve the problems through diplomacy.”

Pakistan dismissed deliberately targeting the centre and has accused Afghanistan of harbouring extremists accountable for cross-border attacks, an allegation Kabul denies. According to officials, some bodies were returned to their home provinces, and a funeral was held for the victims who had been identified. Others are still being identified.

‘Shocking’ Scenes and Rising Toll

The location of assaults and inconsistent reporting have made it challenging to confirm precise casualty numbers. At least 95 victims were found among the debris, according to journalists on the site.

The aftermath was disastrous, according to Jacopo Caridi of the Norwegian Refugee Council, which has teams operating in the region.

"From what we saw and what we discussed with the others involved in the (emergency) response, we can say that there were hundreds of killed and wounded," he said. He added that identifying victims would be challenging due to the condition of the remains.

"In Europe, we have the systems to identify the people, even from body parts," he said. “But here, I don't know if they have these systems. But what I saw was a finger in one place, a foot in another place, a hand in one location. It was really horrific.”

Mediation Efforts Yet to Succeed

Calls for a ceasefire have grown as civilian casualties rise and displacement increases. Before the latest strike, the United Nations had reported at least 76 Afghan civilian deaths and more than 115,000 families relocated due to the conflict. Efforts to resolve between the two countries have so far not been successful. Gulf nations that initially led talks have shifted focus due to ongoing conflicts involving US-Israeli strikes on Iran.

Russia has stated that it is prepared to help if both sides formally request mediation, while China has deployed a special envoy to help ease tensions. For the time being, it's unclear how long the calm will stay despite the little break for Eid.