Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has outlined Pakistan’s position on terrorism, the Afghan Taliban regime, India’s role and the regional security situation in an interview with Reuters.
He said that groups carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan are organised from Afghanistan and are also supplied with weapons from there. He said Pakistan has only one demand from the Afghan Taliban: to stop supporting terrorism against Pakistan.
He warned that if the Afghan Taliban regime failed to accept Pakistan’s demand on terrorism, it would have to pay a heavy price. He said the regime had no international credibility and urged the international community to compel it to behave like a normal state.
The DG ISPR also called on the international community to ensure that the Afghan Taliban stop the cultivation and production of narcotics.
‘India Is Pakistan’s biggest sponsor of terrorism’: DG ISPR
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said India is the biggest sponsor of terrorism in Pakistan, while the Afghan Taliban regime is acting as an Indian proxy. He added that the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) are also Indian proxy organisations operating against Pakistan.
The DG ISPR said the Afghan Taliban use non-state actors and mercenaries to achieve their nefarious objectives. He added that non-state actors continue to play a role in Afghanistan, where a regime is currently in power.
He said that following the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, several intelligence agencies and proxy groups had established a strong presence in the country, and their influence continues to this day. “International terrorist organisations, including Jaysh al-Adl, Al-Qaeda and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), are also present in Afghanistan”, he added.
He said the presence and activities of terrorist organisations in Afghanistan have also been highlighted by the United Nations, the United States and several other countries. The Afghan Taliban regime is providing shelter to terrorists such as Noor Wali Mehsud, Bashir Zeb and Gul Bahadur.
