RAWALPINDI: Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Monday that the conditions set by Afghanistan hold no significance and only the elimination of terrorism matters to Pakistan.
On October 19, Pakistan and Afghanistan had agreed to an immediate ceasefire following high-level negotiations in Doha, where both countries pledged to respect each other’s sovereignty; they were expected to meet again on October 25 to discuss matters further. The second round of talks on October 25 kicked off in Istanbul, with Islamabad eyeing a “concrete” mechanism to monitor Afghan Taliban actions aimed at preventing cross-border terrorist attacks.
The military’s spokesperson delivered a closed-door briefing to senior journalists belonging to select media outlets. “The conditions set by Afghanistan hold no significance,” Lt Gen Chaudhry told the journalists. “The important thing is the eradication of terrorism.”
He added that the guarantors of Pakistani security are the armed forces, not Afghanistan and that Islamabad has “never celebrated” the arrival of the Taliban. The military spokesperson further said that operations are underway against banned groups, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), with 1,667 terrorists killed.
“In Istanbul, the Afghan Taliban were clearly told that they need to control terrorism,” Lt Gen Chaudhry stated. “How they do it is their job. We conducted a counter-terrorism operation, and the terrorists fled to Afghanistan. Hand them over, we’ll deal with them according to the Constitution and the law.
“There will be no talks with terrorists, and Pakistan gave the Afghan Taliban a befitting response, which yielded the results we wanted.”
DG ISPR highlighted the role of the nexus between criminals and terrorist organisations, noting that through opium cultivation, terrorists make between Rs1.8 and 2.5 million per acre.
“The entire population joins them, even warlords join in, and they all work together,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said.
He added that drugs are being smuggled from Afghanistan into Pakistan and further. “Afghan drug smugglers are interfering in Afghan politics.”
Senior journalist Hamid Mir, who attended the briefing, told Geo News that the journalists were presented with evidence of Afghan Taliban soldiers involved in terrorism in Pakistan.
“We were presented with the same evidence shared with the Afghan Taliban in Doha,” Mir reported. “These soldiers had Afghan and Afghan Army identification cards.
