“Pakistan doing terrifically well,” Trump says on Pak-Afghan situation

US President Donald Trump on Friday threw his support behind Pakistan’s latest military campaign, praising its strikes on Taliban in Afghanistan under ‘Operation Ghazab Lil Haq’ as evidence the country was “doing terrifically well”.

In a media talk, Trump was asked about Pakistan’s strikes against Afghan Taliban.

Asked whether anyone had requested him to intervene, Trump said, “Well, I would, but I get along with Pakistan, as you know, very well. Very, very well.

“[They] have a great prime minister, a great general there, a great leader … two of the people I really respect a lot,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of the Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir.

“And I think that Pakistan is doing terrifically well,” Trump said.

Earlier, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said 297 Afghan Taliban were killed and more than 450 injured during Operation Ghazb lil Haq, launched in response to what he described as unprovoked cross-border attacks from Afghan side.

In an update shared on social media platform X, he provided further operational details, stating that 89 Afghan check posts were destroyed, 18 posts were captured, and 135 tanks and armed vehicles were destroyed.

In a separate statement, the United States said on Friday it supported Pakistan after it bombed neighboring Afghanistan and declared war against its Taliban government following clashes.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and expressed support for Pakistan’s right to defend itself against Taliban attacks,” Allison Hooker, the under secretary of state for political affairs, wrote on X after talks with a Pakistani counterpart.

Tensions have been rife between Pakistan and Afghanistan for some months now, culminating in the launch of Operation Ghazab lil-Haq by Islamabad in the wee hours of Friday after unprovoked cross-border firing from Afghan side.

Tensions escalated following a series of security incidents, with Islamabad repeatedly expressing concern over terrorists groups allegedly operating from Afghan soil.