Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, in an informal session with journalists, said the Pakistan Army does not want to be drawn into politics and should be kept away from political affairs. He added that any decision to send a peacekeeping force to Gaza would be made by the government and parliament.
The DG said Pakistan is fully prepared to defend its borders and people, and that the country remains sovereign in framing its policies. “Pakistan will protect its interests through its own strength,” he said, adding that Afghanistan must stop cross-border terrorism. “Afghanistan’s conditions carry no meaning; what matters is the end of terrorism,” he added.
He said Pakistan had conducted 62,113 operations this year, killing 1,667 terrorists, while 582 security personnel were martyred. He added that during recent Pakistan–Afghanistan tensions, 206 Afghan Taliban fighters and 112 Fitna al-Khawarij militants were killed.
The DG ISPR said criminal and terrorist groups were obstructing efforts to control crime and smuggling in the country. He noted that drug smugglers in Afghanistan were interfering in Afghan politics and that narcotics were being smuggled into Pakistan on a large scale. “Militants collect taxes in the name of ushr,” he said, describing it as little more than organised extortion.
Narco-Terror Links and Operations
General Chaudhry said poppy cultivation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa spanned about 12,000 acres, yielding profits between 1.8 and 3.2 million rupees per acre. He said some local politicians and individuals were involved in the trade, while the Afghan Taliban protected it because the opium was sent to Afghanistan, where it was turned into meth and other drugs. He added that poppy fields were destroyed in the Tirah operation with the help of drones, the Anti-Narcotics Force, and the Frontier Corps.
The DG said that Governor’s Rule, if considered, would be a government decision, not a military one. “We are public servants; we don’t accuse anyone,” he said, adding that institutional relations with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government remain intact.
He also stated that Pakistan’s response to any threat from Afghanistan would remain swift and resolute, stressing that Pakistan’s “one-point agenda” was to ensure Afghan soil is not used against it.
Journalists’ Question on KP Chief Minister
According to a journalist present at the meeting, one reporter asked the DG ISPR about Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s remarks regarding “collateral damage.”
In response, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said, “The fundamental responsibility of any government and state is performance and governance. If, instead of addressing the lack of performance and governance, someone prefers political statements and accusations, what can we say about that?”
The DG ISPR also commented on regional security, warning that India was preparing another false-flag operation in deep waters. “India can do whatever it wants on land, sea, or air; but this time, the response will be more severe than before,” he cautioned.
He further noted that the number of religious seminaries in Pakistan had grown from about 48,000 in 2014 to over 100,000 today, and reiterated that the Pakistan Army wanted no involvement in politics. “If anyone wants to drag us into politics, that’s their own strategy,” he concluded.
