Heavy weapons and ammunition seized from retreating Taliban forces are on display as part of the ongoing Ghazab Lil Haq operation.
ISLAMABAD:
Security officials said on Thursday that Pakistan’s ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq against terrorist networks in Afghanistan would continue until credible assurances were provided that terrorism would no longer be supported across the border.
Ties between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are at their lowest level since the group took power four years ago. On February 22, Pakistan carried out night strikes on terrorist camps and hideouts in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. The Afghan Taliban then launched unprovoked attacks along the border last week. Subsequently, Islamabad launched Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq on February 26.
Speaking to journalists from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Rawalpindi, security officials asserted that Pakistan had no problem with Afghanistan or its people, but noted that the Afghan Taliban regime had become a “proxy master” facilitating several terrorist groups, posing a threat to regional peace and stability.
They said Afghan Taliban leaders would have to choose between maintaining relations with Pakistan or continuing to support terrorist groups.
They described Operation Ghazab-Lil-Haq as a continuation of Pakistan’s broader war against terrorism, adding that it would continue until there were credible assurances and practical steps from the Afghan Taliban regime to end the patronage of terrorists.
Describing the terrorists as Khawarij, security officials said they were promoting a “distorted interpretation of religion”. They stressed that terrorism, suicide bombings and violence against women had no connection with Islamic teachings and were contrary to religious and social traditions.
They added that religious scholars from different schools of thought had declared that the fight against the Khawarij and their followers was the highest form of jihad.
Pakistan targeted hideouts, facilitation networks and launch pads in Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan based on intelligence reports.
Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, while Fitna al Hindustan is a state term for terrorist organizations in Balochistan.
The officials rejected claims that civilian areas were being targeted in Afghanistan, calling them contrary to facts that ignored the loss of innocent lives in Pakistan in terrorist attacks.
They further said that groups facing persecution under Afghan Taliban rule welcomed the operation, and added that official Afghan social media accounts and Indian-backed media outlets were spreading fabricated narratives.
The officials also noted that more than 200 intelligence-based operations were being carried out daily across Pakistan to counter terrorist threats. They stressed that national unity and full implementation of the National Action Plan were essential to the elimination of terrorism.
Responding to concerns over developments in the region, including tensions involving Iran, the officials said claims that Pakistan’s security was under threat were unfounded.
They reiterated that Pakistan believed in maintaining constructive relations with all countries, but remained fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
