PESHAWAR:
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Friday criticized the past politicization of counter-terrorism operations and repatriation of Afghan refugees, saying it had created space for anti-state elements to regroup in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and fueled a resurgence of attacks in the province.
Speaking at a press conference at the Corps Headquarters in Peshawar, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said Pakistan’s National Action Plan (NAP), first formulated after the APS attack in 2014 and revised in 2021, had not been fully implemented beyond kinetic operations.
“No robust efforts have been made to strengthen the legal system, to reform madrassas and to equip the CTD, especially in KP,” he said, adding that there are some 4,355 religious seminaries in KP, of which around 55 per cent are only registered.
He recalled that in 2021, the then government “removed certain provisions of the plan – despite progress in these areas – and introduced a revised version”. All parties recommitted to implementing the plan, “but implementation remains lacking.”
Without naming any party, he attributed the deteriorating security situation in KP to internal failures. “The provincial government has fallen into a nexus between terrorism and crime,” he said, referring to illegal activities such as the narcotics trade and unpaid vehicles at customs that “have allowed anarchy to flourish and terrorism to multiply.”
“When the suggestion was made to seal the Pak-Afghan border, there were people in power who opposed it – only to continue their criminal activities,” he added. “Terrorism exists today because we are not following the National Action Plan.”
DG ISPR said the roots of terrorism lie not only across the border but also in the failures of governance of Pakistan. “Why do 70 per cent of all terrorist activities take place in KP and Balochistan, and not in the other two provinces? The answer is good governance,” he asked.
He accused the KP government of politicizing the fight against terrorism and weakening the resolve of the state by seeking negotiations with militants. “Calling for negotiations with non-state actors is a failure of governance,” he noted.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry insisted that talks cannot take place with anti-state elements or Fitnaul Khwarij who are killing innocent people and attacking security forces, and warned that the status quo in fighting terrorism through dialogue “will no longer be tolerated.”
He urged the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to support the security forces to break the political-criminal-terrorist nexus, disrupting smuggling and illicit trafficking which were the main causes of terrorism.
Providing operational statistics, DG ISPR said that terrorist incidents in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have increased after 2021, leading to intensification of counter-terrorism operations. He reported that 14,535 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were carried out in KP in the last year, resulting in the deaths of 769 terrorists.
He said 577 people, including 271 members of the security forces and 165 civilians, were martyred during this period. The Army spokesperson added that on an average 40 IBOs are carried out daily in KP, killing around three terrorists per day. Since September 15 this year, he said, 10,115 ICPs have eliminated 917 terrorists and left 516 dead, including 311 soldiers and 73 police officers.
“The number of terrorists killed this year is higher than in the last ten years,” he said, wondering why terrorists were not punished by KP courts.
DG ISPR defended the precision of the operations and said special care was being taken to avoid collateral damage. “Our martyrs are our pride. Pakistan Army officers are leading the security of our people from the front in counter-terrorism operations rarely seen in the world,” he said.
He warned the facilitators of “Fitna al Khwarij” to hand them over to the state or prepare for heavy-handed military action.
He said the facilitators “have no choice but to cooperate with security forces to eliminate these terrorists or face strong action.”
He reiterated that Fitnaul Khwarij’s facilitation is unacceptable and promised that the campaign against terrorism would continue despite political distractions and negative propaganda within the KP.
“Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the people of Pakistan have borne the brunt of terrorism with courage and determination and their sacrifices will not be in vain,” he said. “The war on terror is a battle for our survival and it will be fought collectively.”
The DG ISPR claimed that elements inside Afghanistan, including Indian-sponsored proxies and non-state actors, were being used to launch attacks inside Pakistan.
He said border security is a shared responsibility between countries, but accused actors across the western border of facilitating Fitnaul Khawarij, smuggling and illicit trade in narcotics which has negative effects in Pakistan.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has warned that propagandists who criticize counter-terrorism operations in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa while advocating illicit trade and smuggling amount to supporting infiltration of undesirable elements involved in subversive acts in KP.
He promised that operations against crime-terrorism nexus and illicit drug trafficking will continue until Fitnaul Khwarij is defeated at all costs.
He described Afghanistan as a neighboring and brotherly country, adding that Pakistan hosted millions of Afghan refugees for three decades and facilitated transit trade and medical assistance to Afghans.
Referring to the Doha agreement, he said the interim Afghan government had the responsibility to ensure that Afghan soil was not used against Pakistan. Pakistan has raised its terrorism-related concerns with Afghan authorities at different levels, citing the recent visits to Afghanistan by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Muhammad Ishaq Dar and Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry warned that Pakistan would protect the lives and property of its citizens and would not allow anyone to challenge state orders.
He also reiterated that weapons and ammunition worth an estimated $7.2 billion remained in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal, which fueled terrorism in the region, and warned that these weapons could also be used by terrorists around the world for monetary gains.
Reiterating that the armed forces should not be drawn into politics, he called May 9 a “black day” in which the government and security installations were attacked and said those responsible were being prosecuted under the law.
He also stressed the need for a strong justice system to combat social media crimes.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan remained resolute in the fight against terrorism. “We are fighting for Pakistan and supporting the democratic parliamentary system,” and warned that no individual or group will be allowed to politicize the blood of martyrs.
He said that nefarious propaganda was the root cause of terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and great responsibilities lay on all stakeholders to work together to reject such propagandists, imperative for peace and economic prosperity of the country.
