A local official in the eastern Afghan province of Kunar said Pakistan's military had shelled parts of the province after the expiration overnight March 23 of Pakistan's pause on military operations surrounding the Eid al-Fitr holiday, AP reported on March 25. One unnamed Pakistani local official seemingly affirmed the renewal of clashes, telling AP the Afghan Taliban was responsible for the fresh fighting, but another unnamed senior Pakistani official offered a contrasting account, telling Arab News Pakistan that a tenuous ceasefire continued to hold.

Pakistan announced it would temporarily suspend its cross-border strikes on Afghanistan from midnight March 18 through midnight March 23, reportedly at the request of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey. The suspension was the first and most substantial concession Islamabad had made amid weeks of international efforts to mediate between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban and anti-Pakistan militants also announced ceasefires around Eid al-Fitr, and local reports suggest cross-border clashes tangibly eased during the period. U.N. officials and prominent Afghan and Pakistani religious clerics have since called on the neighbors to extend their ceasefire.