Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry will address a press conference today (Friday) at 3 p.m. where he is expected to discuss security-related issues, including the surge in terrorist incidents.
The development comes a day after the federal government appointed Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir as the first Chief of Defense Force (CDF) of Pakistan.
The military spokesperson is also expected to discuss counter-terrorism efforts, situation on the Pak-Afghan border and other related issues.
Last week, the lieutenant general said Afghan Taliban troops were engaging in unprovoked fire against Pakistani border forces to facilitate the infiltration of terrorists into the country.
“The borders are always mutually guarded by the two countries. On the other side, there is a country whose posts first engage yours with fire, and an exchange begins. And then they have them. [terrorists] pass between spaces,” the top military spokesperson said during an interaction with senior journalists last Friday evening.
“If you go to the border of Sindh or Punjab, do you have divided villages or populations, or are you sitting on the border? Here [Pak-Afghan border]there are 29 tribes which are divided. The population is here and there. How are you going to control movements along this same border?” he added.
The day before, Pakistan had partially reopened the Torkham and Chaman border crossings, specifically for the transportation of emergency humanitarian aid sent by the United Nations to the Afghan people.
The UN emergency aid also includes food, medicine and school supplies for Afghan children.
A Pakistani official said AFP said the border would remain closed to all trade, and that the partial reopening for aid was “conditional.” “Pakistan has not reopened the border to general trade or immigration with Afghanistan, nor has it restored Afghan transit trade,” the official added.
