ISLAMABAD (MNN); Pakistan’s armed forces have killed 481 Afghan Taliban personnel so far as Operation Ghazab Lil Haq continues, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday.
In a post on X, the minister stated that as of 4pm on March 4, more than 696 Afghan Taliban fighters had been injured. He added that 226 checkposts were destroyed and 35 captured during the operation.
Tarar further claimed that 198 tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns had been destroyed, while 56 locations across Afghanistan were “effectively” targeted through air strikes.
Separately, police sources said a militant commander was killed during an intelligence-based operation in the Paharkhel Pacca area of Lakki Marwat district. The joint operation was conducted by police, the Counter Terrorism Department and security forces after reports of terrorist presence.
Prime Minister’s political adviser Rana Sanaullah, who attended a recent in-camera briefing, said the objectives of Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq had “almost been achieved” and were now being consolidated.
Speaking to Geo News, he emphasised that Pakistan’s sole demand was that the Afghan Taliban must not allow their soil to be used for terrorism against Pakistan. “If they step back from this, we have no fight with them,” he said.
Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz paid tribute to the Pakistan Army for the operation’s progress, according to Pakistan Television Corporation. Chairing a meeting of the provincial Apex Committee, she reviewed law and order and expressed satisfaction over coordination among institutions.
In another development, Ghaznikhel police station SHO Abdul Muneem Khan said security personnel were conducting a search-and-strike mission in a hilly area when they received information about militants planning subversive activities. After an exchange of fire, the body of a militant commander was recovered and shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Tajazai.
Meanwhile, two mortar shells were fired at the residence of Qayyum, brother of tribal elder Malik Saidullah Wazir, in the Nargasai area of Lower South Waziristan’s Birmal tehsil. Police said one shell exploded inside the premises, causing partial structural damage and minor damage to a parked vehicle, while the other failed to detonate. No casualties were reported. An investigation has been launched to trace those responsible.
Wazir is considered an influential tribal figure in Lower and Upper South Waziristan. Following the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent war on militancy, members of his family reportedly resisted foreign militants in the region.
According to a report by The New York Times cited by PTV, Pakistan’s strike on Bagram Air Base destroyed an aircraft hangar and two warehouses. Satellite images reportedly showed flattened structures at the base, once the nerve centre of the United States’ 20-year war in Afghanistan and later regarded as a strategic asset by the Taliban.
The report added that Pakistan has carried out more than 50 strikes on Afghan military targets. Analysts quoted by PTV described the attack on Bagram as a clear signal that Pakistan retains the capability to conduct operations anywhere inside Afghanistan.
