PM Shehbaz Reaffirms Op Ghazab lil-Haq 'Continuing With Full Resolve' Against Taliban-Based Proxies at Quetta Military College Visit

May 20, 2026: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited the Command and Staff College in Quetta, Baluchistan — Pakistan Army's premier military education institution — and publicly reaffirmed that Operation Ghazab lil-Haq is 'continuing with full resolve to defend lives and property of innocent citizens against Afghan Taliban-based terrorist proxies.' SIGNIFICANCE OF QUETTA: The Command and Staff College in Quetta is where Pakistan Army produces its future generals. Quetta is also the historical seat of the Taliban's 'Quetta Shura' — the senior Taliban leadership council that operated in Baluchistan during the insurgency era. PM Shehbaz's public statement in Quetta directly frames the ongoing operations not as a domestic counterterrorism campaign but as a defense against Afghan Taliban-sponsored proxy violence — the core of Pakistan's diplomatic case against the Taliban IEA. KEY ELEMENTS OF THE STATEMENT: 1. 'Full resolve' language: Echoes Field Marshal Asim Munir's May 11 'until its logical conclusion' formulation, confirming political-military unity on operations with no ceasefire in view. 2. 'Afghan Taliban-based terrorist proxies': Explicitly names Afghan Taliban as the sponsor of TTP proxy attacks — a direct diplomatic accusation aimed at international audiences and consistent with Pakistan's formal diplomatic demarches. 3. 'Lives and property of innocent citizens': Defensive framing that counters Afghan and international criticism over civilian casualties from Pakistani cross-border strikes. DIPLOMATIC CONTEXT: The Quetta visit comes as Pakistan is under pressure from multiple directions: UNAMA documented 372 Afghan civilian deaths in Q1 2026 from Pakistani operations; CPJ is pressing the EU to condition Taliban engagement on journalist releases; and the China-mediated Urumqi framework has produced no Urumqi Round 2 negotiations. PM Shehbaz's 'full resolve' language signals no near-term diplomatic pivot.