PESHAWAR: The failure to implement National Action Plan and politicisation of terrorism is the main reason for rising menace of terrorism, DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif said.
Addressing an important press conference at the Peshawar Corps Headquarter on Friday, said Pakistan has been battling the scourge of terrorism for the last two decades and the Pakistan Army is determined to eradicate it.
The 14 points of the National Action Plan had pledged to eliminate terrorists and Khawarij, which has not been fully implemented.
He said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been the biggest target of terrorism for many years. In 2024, 14,535 operations were conducted in the province, in which more than 700 terrorists were killed.
The DG ISPR said that last year, 272 Pakistan Army and 140 police personnel were martyred, while 165 civilians were martyred in terrorist incidents.
He said that 516 people were martyred in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year, including the army, police and civilians. The number of foreigners killed during this year was the highest in the last 10 years.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif said that terrorists used 30 Afghan suicide bombers in the last two years, while India is using Afghanistan as a base camp for terrorism and is fully supporting terrorism in Pakistan.
The DG ISPR said that all this was done under a well-thought-out plan to spread unrest in Pakistan. However, the Pakistan Army will foil this conspiracy with the cooperation of the nation.
He said that if every problem was solved through talks, India would not have fired missiles instead of talks in the incidents of May 6 and 7.
He said that history is a witness, if every problem was solved only through talks, Badr and other invasions would not have happened.
The spokesperson said that you people say why terrorism is not ending, in 2014 and 2021 it was decided that the police will be strengthened in the war against terrorism and the Counter Terrorism Department will be strengthened, we salute the brave police of KP but you have kept their number only 3200.
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the youth of our security forces are filling the governance gap in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with their blood, there is a political and criminal nexus behind terrorism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but no single individual can be given the authority to trade the lives, property and honour of the state and the people of Pakistan for his own selfish interests.
A total of 3,984 terrorist attacks took place in the last three months and 70 percent of the terrorist attacks in the last three months took place in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the DG ISPR said.
“Why don’t these terrorist incidents happen in Sindh and Punjab?”, the DG ISPR questioned.
This is not because terrorists do not want to operate in these provinces, terrorism is under control due to improved governance in Punjab and Sindh, the spokesperson said
The DG ISPR said, here, instead of eliminating terrorism through performance and governance, politics is being done. The institutions here have not been strengthened here to combat terrorism.
The absence of governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is being compensated by the blood and sacrifices of the forces, the DG ISPR said.
MAY 9 CASES
He further said that our position regarding May 9 has been clear from the first day, this is not the issue of the Pakistani army but of the nation.
“No country can move forward until those who committed and facilitated such incidents are brought to justice, the state of Pakistan is very strong”, he said.
DG ISPR said that all the requirements of justice regarding the allegations against former DG ISI Faiz Hameed will be fulfilled.
Answering a question regarding former DG ISI Faiz Hameed, the Pakistan Army spokesperson clarified that the process of self-accountability in the Pakistan Army is very coherent and good, but the process of self-accountability in the army does not work just on allegations, the allegations are proven and then punishment is given.
He said that the one being tried is the former DG ISI and this is a very important matter that has a legal procedure, everyone should understand that all the requirements of justice will be fulfilled in this matter.
DG ISPR said that there is no need for delay in the Field General Court Martial, the requirements of justice will be fulfilled and all rights for defense are available in the Pakistani Armed Forces.
The spokesperson clarified that you should not bring us into politics. Politicians are respectable to us, but your politics is not above the state. Keep your army away from vulgar rhetoric and misleading propaganda.
