RAWALPINDI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif on Monday said that planned propaganda is being run against the armed forces of Pakistan, adding that a “massive, illegal political mafia” in the country was trying to sabotage the state’s Azm-i-Istehkam operation to fulfil its vested interests.
The DG ISPR was addressing an important press conference in Rawalpindi over the current law and order situation in the country. He said that the armed forces were already rendering sacrifices in the battle against terrorists and stressed that it was time for the nation to stand up against militants and “digital terrorists”.
The military spokesman said, “The purpose of this press conference is to clarify their position on some key topics,”, adding that recently there was some “increase in organized propaganda, wrong news, false, and concocted news” against the armed forces.
He said that around 398 terrorists have been killed in different operations by armed forces across the country. He added that 22,409 operations have been conducted in the current year to eradicate terrorism from the country.
The DG ISPR said that during these operations, 31 high-value targets have been killed. “This year 137 officers and soldiers laid their lives in the operations,” the spokesman said.
Azm-e-Istehkam
Responding to a question, the DG ISPR said that Azm-e-Istehkam is an integrated counter-terrorism campaign. He stated that it was a “comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign” through national consensus and “not a military operation as it is being presented”.
He further clarified that Azm-e-Istehkam focuses on multi-domain functions aimed at ensuring enduring stability, rooting out the nexus of terrorism and crime, and combating violent extremism to create a peaceful environment.
He said: “I will start by saying that our issue is that we are sacrificing even very key issues on the altar of politics and Azm-i-Istehkam is one such example of this.”
The military spokesman said that a narrative was formed to give the impression that the operation was launched in order to displace people, clarifying that it was only for the purpose of reviving the already in-place National Action Plan (NAP).
The DG ISPR said that kinetic efforts already underway that would be “amplified” by law enforcement agencies empowered by effective legislation, according to the original announcement of the operation.
Referring to the original announcement, the military spokesman questioned where it pointed to earlier military operations. He said that a “very strong lobby did not want the objectives of the National Action Plan (NAP) to be fulfilled because the stakes are very high”. The DG ISPR said, “A massive illegal, political mafia rose to sabotage the operation and the first move of that mafia was to make the operations controversial through fake and false arguments.”
Pointing to the NAP’s 14 points, he stated kinetic operations were “underway in an impressive manner” with “four to five operations underway on an hourly basis”.
The military spokesman said the problem was present in the plan’s other points. He said it was decided in 2014 and 2021 that Counter-Terrorism Departments would be established at the provincial levels and they would be responsible for leading operations against terrorism.
The DG ISPR said the National Action Plan also talked about the regularisation and registration of religious seminaries but only a bit over 16,000 were and thus the status of 50 percent was unknown. “Does the army have to do this?” he questioned.
Smuggling Along Afghanistan Border
The military spokesman also criticized the “elements involved in illegal smuggling along the border of Afghanistan.”
The DG ISPR said that all political parties had also decided to end the “illegal spectrum”. “This illegal spectrum is felt and seen everywhere in daily life and it hides a major illegal economy through which the criminal system and terrorism operate,” he explained.
He said the requirement of the illegal spectrum was a “soft state” and the solution to it was the National Action Plan, adding that eliminating the illegal spectrum would lead to societal benefits overall instead of solely curbing terrorism.
“There is a vested interest that doesn’t want this to happen and they are making a lot of money.”
He said if Operation Azm-i-Istehkam was properly acted on, it would not only eliminate terrorism but also lead to societal and national uplift.
Bannu Cantonment Attack
The DG ISPR mentioned last week’s terrorist attack on Bannu Cantonment that martyred eight military personnel.
He said the locals had demanded carrying out a peace march the next day and it was agreed that there would be no anti-state slogans carried out. “But when the peace march began, some specific negative elements joined with it,” he added.
He said the rally marched through the point of the terrorist attack and “chanted slogans against the army and the state and pelted stones”, adding that some armed individuals were already part of the march “who opened fire because of which there were injuries”. He said a temporary wall erected was also torn down and the supply depot was looted.
“This is how it happened. The army’s response was as per SOP and as per orders. When the May 9 incident happened, a specific political group, a chaotic crowd, began doing propaganda that why didn’t the army stop them.”
The DG ISPR said the army’s system was “very clear”, adding that if there was a military situation then there “are very clear directions and the officers conducted themselves according to it”.
He said if a “chaotic crowd” set upon a military installation then it was first “given a clear warning”, then aerial firing was carried out and “if it still does not stop then it is treated how it should be.”
The DG ISPR said security forces had thus conducted aerial firing as per the above code. “The issue is why this happened. This happened because your legal and judicial system, when it gives leeway to the perpetrators and facilitators of May 9 and doesn’t bring them to justice then discord, mob mentality and fascism will further increase in the country.”
“Miscreants join a crowd and open fire and kill people, so this responsibility is of the provincial government and administration.”
TTP Chief’s Audio Leak
Questioned about an alleged audio leak of Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, chief of the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the DG ISPR questioned what brand of Islam the militant was preaching that talking about blowing up schools, colleges, hospitals and homes.
“This will be taken to its logical end,” he said, adding that such things “only strengthen our resolve that Azm-i-Istehkam is highly necessary”.
Questioned about criticism of and the narrative against the army and its leadership on social media, DG Sharif said: “What is happening is digital terrorism.”
He said digital terrorists used the tools of cell phones, computers, falsehood and propaganda to impose their will on society, the same as regular terrorists. He said: “Digital terrorism is being done on social media. The army is standing up against terrorists and digital terrorists. The time has come for the entire nation to stand up against them.”
