Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has vowed to tighten the noose around Khawarij terrorists and their facilitators, regardless of who they are.
Addressing a news conference in Peshawar today, he said the entire nation stands like Bunyan-um-Marsoos against terrorists and their facilitators.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the current status quo will not persist. He said any individual or group facilitating the Khawarij, regardless of the reason, must either hand them over to the state, stand by the state in eliminating the scourge of terrorism to safeguard innocent lives, or be prepared to face decisive action from the state.
The Director General ISPR said the state of Pakistan, its armed forces and law enforcement agencies are the sole guarantors of the security of their people. He said security of the people of Pakistan cannot be mortgaged to any other country. He stressed that the provincial government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa needs to fulfill its responsibilities of protecting people of the province instead of begging Afghanistan for security. He said India is using Afghanistan as a base for terrorism inside Pakistan.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the armed forces are performing internal security duties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in accordance with the law and constitution. He said the martyrs are our pride and their sacrifices further our resolve in the fight against terrorism. He said the sacrifices of martyrs will not go in vain.
Responding to a question, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the Afghan authorities have time and again been asked to prevent use of Afghanistan’s soil against Pakistan.
To another question, he said the armed forces are taking and will continue to take all necessary steps to protect lives of the people of Pakistan.
The DG ISPR strongly condemned the false and fabricated narrative targeting ongoing anti-terrorism operations and mocking the sacrifices of the armed forces, emphasizing that this reflects the malicious intent of political-criminal nexus. He firmly asserted that the state of Pakistan, its armed forces and institutions will remain unaffected by any form of political disruption. He said the state of Pakistan and its people will not and cannot be left to the whims of any single person who is singularly responsible for bringing terrorism back to Pakistan, especially Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Alluding to the counter terrorism operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the DG ISPR mentioned that fourteen thousand, five hundred and thirty-five intelligence based operations were carried out last year, killing 769 terrorists. He said five hundred and seventy-seven people including two hundred and seventy-two personnel of Pakistan Army and one hundred and ten of police embraced martyrdom.
The DG ISPR said ten thousand, one hundred and fifteen intelligence based operations have so far been carried out this year, which resulted in the killing of 917 terrorists. Five hundred and sixteen people including 311 brave officers and jawans of Pakistan Army and seventy-three of police embraced martyrdom.
