Pakistan remains committed to eradicating terrorism, the country’s foreign minister said Monday, as a temporary cease-fire with Afghanistan nears its end.
Both countries last Wednesday announced a halt to weeks of hostilities for the Ramadan Bayram, also known as Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan, agreeing to a temporary cease-fire until midnight Monday.
But in a message to mark Pakistan Day, a national holiday, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar indicated that the country's approach to the conflict had not changed.
"Pakistan remains firmly committed to eradicate the menace of terrorism," he said in a statement. "Pakistan's actions inside Afghanistan ... are directed towards this goal."
On Sunday, the Taliban government and a medical source said one person was killed by a mortar shell fired by Pakistan in the eastern border province of Kunar.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have been locked in conflict for months over claims from Islamabad that Kabul is harboring terrorists behind cross-border attacks on its territory.
The Taliban authorities deny the claim.
The Eid truce came after a Pakistani strike on a drug rehabilitation center in Kabul last Monday, which Afghan authorities said killed more than 400.
The latest bout of skirmishes, which began in February, followed earlier failed mediation efforts, including Gulf states and China.
The focus of Gulf countries has shifted to the situation in their own backyard since the start of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran last month.
In his own Pakistan Day message, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday that military action inside Afghanistan was "a symbol of our national resolve against terrorism."
"We will not allow any harm to the peace and security of our country," he added.
