The Director General Inter-Service Public Relations, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry says Pakistan Army is committed to completely dismantle terrorist groups.
Addressing a news conference in Rawalpindi , he disclosed that plot to kill Chinese engineers in Besham was hatched in neighboring Afghanistan.
He said suicide bomber was Afghan national and vehicle used in attack was also prepared in Afghanistan. He said four other key culprits have been arrested by the law enforcement agencies.
The DG ISPR said that there are twenty-nine thousand Chinese nationals in Pakistan. Of these, twenty-five hundred Chinese are engaged with CPEC-related projects and five thousand and five hundred others are working on other development projects.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said ensuring security of all Chinese nationals is government’s top priority and all possible steps are being taken in this regard.
The DG ISPR said the attack on Chinese engineers was aimed at sabotaging Pakistan-China friendship and hurt the CPEC project.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said security forces conducted over thirteen thousand intelligence based operations against terrorists and their facilitators.
He said that about one hundred operations are being carried out on daily basis.
Referring to the situation on the eastern border, the DG ISPR said Pakistan’s civil and military leadership is fully cognizant of the planning being made in India to divert attention from its internal anarchy.
Alluding to the Indian ceasefire violations, the DG ISPR said Pakistan Army has responded in a befitting manner and it will continue to do so in future.
He said Pakistan stands by their Kashmiri brothers and sisters and will continue to extend political, diplomatic and moral support to them for their right to self-determination.
He said India is also involved in extra territorial killings of Sikhs. He said there are also evidence of the involvement of India in assassination of people inside Pakistan.
The DG ISPR also mentioned the attempts made by a particular party to sabotage Pakistan’s deal with the IMF.
Responding to a question, the ISPR Chief said the constitution of Pakistan clearly states that Pakistan’s integrity, security and defence cannot be undermined in the name of freedom of expression.
Replying to another question, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry made it clear that the armed forces had nothing to do with the recent elections, except to provide a secure environment for polling.
Regarding armed forces’ role in SIFC, Major General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said they are only facilitating efforts for the uplift of country’s economy.
Replying to a question regarding misuse of Afghan Transit Trade, the Major General said Pakistan does not use trade as leverage for political mileage.
Regarding Pakistan’s relations with Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Saudi Arabia is taking keen interest in helping Pakistan’s economy and it is unfortunate that some political elements do not hesitate in harming Islamabad’s relations with friendly countries.
The DG ISPR said Pak army is a national army and has a constitutional relationship with every government in power. He said all political parties are important for us, however, if any group tries to create rift between the people and the Army, there can be no dialogue and for such group of rioters, the only one way forward is to apologize and take part in constructive politics.
