Pakistan armed forces, under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, continue to give an effective, immediate and brutal response to Afghan Taliban’s unprovoked aggression on Pak-Afghan border.
Briefing media in Rawalpindi today, Director General ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan, on the basis of intelligence reports, very carefully targeted training camps of Fitna al-Khawarij, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on 21 and 22 of this month. He said the Afghan Taliban regime, which is the master proxy of all terrorist proxies, came into action last night and opened unprovoked fire and conducted physical raids in fifteen sectors on 53 locations along the Pak-Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said the aggression was done by the master proxy in coordination and collusion of TTP. He said they came with quad copters, armed quad copters, heavy and light weapons.
The Director General said Pakistan responded in a befitting manner and not only repulsed all those actions but successfully took down their quad copters and drones.
Giving further detail of Pakistan’s response, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Operation Ghazab lil-Haq is continuing under the direction of the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He said so far, 274 personnel of the Afghan Taliban regime have been sent to the hell and over 400 others are injured. He added that 73 posts of the Afghan Taliban regime have been completely destroyed while 18 posts have been captured. Other than that 115 tanks and armoured vehicles have been destroyed. Besides, headquarters, military facilities and installations, from where Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hidustan get support, were targeted. He further updated that aerial strikes were also conducted by Pakistan at 22 locations in Kandahar, Paktia, Nangarhar, Khost and Paktika. All these targets were very carefully selected based on intelligence. Those were military targets and extra care was exercised so that there is no civilian collateral damage. These targets include corps, brigade, battalion, and sector headquarters, ammunition depots, logistic basis of the Afghan Taliban regime, along with the sanctuaries, offering protection and support to the terrorists and their abettors.
The Director General ISPR further said during these strikes, Afghan Taliban forces and accompanying Khawarij fled from several locations and left behind the bodies of their dead. He said those dead bodies have been respectfully preserved as per Geneva protocol.
Regarding sacrifices of the Pakistan armed forces, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said 12 sons of Pakistan embraced martyrdom during the operation, 27 sustained injuries, while one soldier is missing in action.
The DG told the oppressive Afghan Taliban regime to choose between Pakistan and terrorist organizations like TTP, BLA, Daish, and Al-Qaida. He said the Government of Pakistan has time and again made it clear that the Afghan Taliban will have to choose between Pakistan and terrorist organizations.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said our choice is absolutely clear as it will always be Pakistan over everything. He said the armed forces and the people of Pakistan will not hesitate in rendering any kind of sacrifice for this choice.
Answering a question, the Director General ISPR said there is no doubt that Indian sponsorship is behind every incident of terrorism taking place in Pakistan. He made it clear that whether it is the eastern or western border of the country as well as the air and the sea frontiers, the armed forces of Pakistan always remain vigilant.
Replying to another question, Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said the Afghan Taliban regime had made written commitments and promises under the Doha Accord. He recalled that they had committed to have an inclusive and representative government in Afghanistan as well as to respect the women’s rights and to prevent use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities. He said now the entire world knows what is going on in Afghanistan, contrary to the pledges made in the Doha Accord. He said Pakistan is the bulwark state against terrorism and the whole world is very clear that Islamabad was compelled to conduct operations against the oppressive Afghan Taliban regime righteously in self-defence and to protect its people.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry made it clear that the entire nation is firmly united in this war on terror. He said all political parties and political leadership are absolutely clear that terrorism cannot be given space in Pakistan.
To another question, the Director General said Operation Ghazab lil-Haq is continuing under the instructions of the Prime Minister of Pakistan and we are achieving the desired results.
