The conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has been ongoing for months, was announced on Wednesday to be in a truce during the end of Ramadan celebration, two days after a Pakistani airstrike that resulted in hundreds of casualties at a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul.
The ceasefire will come into effect on Thursday, local time, and will last until the following Monday at midnight, as stated by the Pakistani Information Minister, Attaullah Tarar.
Both countries announced, one after the other, in similar terms, a truce in honor of Eid al-Fitr. The ceasefire was at the request of friendly Muslim countries, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey, they said.
But Afghanistan will respond courageously to any aggression, declared Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. Pakistan also stated being ready to respond forcefully in case of an attack.
Stability disrupted in the Gulf States On Monday night, Pakistani planes bombed Kabul, devastating a drug rehabilitation center. The attack resulted in 408 deaths and 265 injuries, according to Taliban authorities.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the airstrike on Wednesday, the deadliest since the conflict between the two countries, reminding that medical facilities must be respected and protected under international law. Pakistan denied intentionally targeting the medical center, claiming to be aiming at military and terrorist targets.
Collective funerals Just over 50 victims were buried on Wednesday in Kabul, according to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Health. On a rainy hill in the Afghan capital, Red Crescent volunteers laid simple wooden coffins in a freshly dug communal grave, as observed by an AFP journalist.
Today is a sad day, stated the Afghan Interior Minister while offering condolences to the families. Afghans are going through difficult times… these people were human beings, and we will seek justice for them, he added. We are not weak; you will see the consequences of your crimes, the minister directed at Pakistani forces.
However, Sirajuddin Haqqani, once Washington’s most-wanted man in Afghanistan, left the door open to a conflict resolution through mediation. We do not want war, but the situation has come to this. We are trying to solve the problem through diplomacy, he highlighted.
More victims will be buried in their respective regions, as indicated by Abdul Mateen Qani, an AFP spokesperson for the Interior Ministry. The identification process is still underway. The intensity of the strike caused some bodies to explode, explained Jacopo Caridi, the Afghanistan director for the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
Based on what we have seen and discussed with other [participating] agencies in the relief operations, we can say that there are hundreds of dead and wounded, he stated in an interview with AFP, providing the first independent confirmation of the very high toll.
The hospital was accommodating around 2,000 patients suffering from addiction from across Afghanistan. Some parts were completely destroyed, continued Mr. Caridi, describing horrific scenes with body parts in the ruins.
