Director General ISPR, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, says Pakistan targeted ammunition depots, drone storage, and technical support facilities in Kabul, not any drug rehabilitation centre.
In an interview with private news TV channel, he categorically rejected the Afghan Taliban’s claims of targeting a hospital. He questioned how any sane person could establish a hospital within a military installation. He termed it unfortunate that the Afghan Taliban regime exploits drug addicts for suicide bombings and terrorist activities. He said that such individuals were likely being used for training purposes at the site, which caught fire due to secondary detonations. He reiterated that Pakistan did not target any civilian facility.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Pakistan has so far conducted eighty-one air strikes inside Afghanistan, all directed against terrorist support infrastructure. He said precision-guided munitions were used to specifically target these sites to prevent collateral damage.
The DG ISPR made it clear that Pakistan has no hostility towards the people of Afghanistan, who are themselves suffering under the Afghan Taliban regime.
Highlighting the context of Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq, he said Pakistan targeted terrorist hideouts along the Pak-Afghan border. However, the Afghan Taliban regime carried out attacks on Pakistan’s posts at fifty-three locations. He said this blatant aggression compelled Pakistan to respond. He said now everyone must know that we will take them to the task.
Answering a question, the Director General emphasized the need to distinguish between the civilian population, terrorists, and Afghan Taliban operatives. He said the latter often wear civilian clothing instead of uniforms, making identification difficult. He added that while they may be perceived as civilians, in reality they are involved in terrorist activities.
Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said Afghanistan cannot be considered a state in the true sense, but rather a territory controlled by a terrorist proxy in the form of the Afghan Taliban.
Replying to another question, the Director General ISPR said Pakistan only seeks to ensure that Afghan territory is not used against it. He said terrorists belonging to Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan are hiding in government buildings in Afghanistan with the full backing of the Afghan Taliban regime.
