Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the decision to send peacekeeping troops to Gaza will be made by the government and parliament, asserting that Pakistan is fully prepared to safeguard its borders and citizens and remains completely sovereign in policy-making.
During an informal discussion with journalists in Peshawar, the DG ISPR shared detailed updates on ongoing counter-terrorism operations against Fitna al-Khawarij, revealing that 1,667 terrorists have been eliminated so far. He said the militants were extorting people under the guise of Ushr (religious tax), while most of the counter-terrorism operations were conducted in Balochistan.
“This year alone, security forces carried out 62,113 operations, during which 582 personnel embraced martyrdom,” he said. Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif added that during the recent escalation, 206 Afghan Taliban and 112 members of Fitna al-Khawarij were killed, noting that around 60 percent of the attackers were Afghan nationals.
He emphasised that the Pakistan Army does not wish to get involved in politics and should be kept away from it. Referring to the conditions being placed by Afghanistan, he said these were “meaningless,” adding that the real objective must remain the elimination of terrorism.
According to the DG ISPR, the influence of drug smugglers in Afghanistan’s political landscape has increased, and narcotics are being smuggled into Pakistan on a large scale. He also said that the Afghan Taliban are providing safe havens and residential cover to Fitna al-Khawarij terrorists, particularly in densely populated areas.
“Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has pledged allegiance to the Afghan Taliban’s supreme leader and is effectively a branch of the Afghan Taliban,” he remarked.
Referring to the anti-drug operations in the Tirah Valley, he said the opium crop had been destroyed through coordinated drone surveillance and operations by the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) and Frontier Corps (FC). He noted that about 12,000 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been used for poppy cultivation, yielding profits between Rs 1.8 million and Rs 3.2 million per acre.
“Local politicians and individuals are involved in this cultivation, which is why the Afghan Taliban protect them, as the opium is transported to Afghanistan and processed into ice and other narcotics,” he added.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif reiterated that Pakistan’s response to threats from across the border has been swift and measured. “Efforts are ongoing to resolve issues with Afghanistan through dialogue and to ensure that Afghan soil is not used against Pakistan,” he said.
