RAWALPINDI: ISPR Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif stated on Monday that the “political mafia aims to create controversy around Operation Azm-e-Istehkam”.
“Why did a political and illegal mafia stand up [against Azm-e-Istehkam] and start saying that they will not let this happen?” questioned DG ISPR during a press conference in Rawalpindi.
The DG ISPR stated that Azm-e-Istehkam is a comprehensive and integrated counter-terrorism campaign, not a military operation as it is being portrayed.
Recalling the June 22 meeting of the Apex Committee, the country’s top security body, regarding Azm-e-Istehkam, he mentioned that the statement following the meeting emphasized, “we have made an anti-terrorism policy with national consensus.”
Addressing concerns over the campaign, the DG ISPR said that no-go areas do not exist across the country and clarified that there would be no more displacements due to Azm-e-Istehkam.
Amid the hue and cry over the newly announced campaign, the army’s spokesperson informed journalists that the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement on June 24 to clarify the matter.
“Azm-e-Istehkam is not a military operation. Why is Azm-e-Istehkam being made controversial? There’s a strong lobby that wants the objectives of Azm-e-Istehkam not to be fulfilled. It is being politicized.”
Providing statistics on the ongoing operations, he said that the army is conducting four to five operations per hour daily, clarifying that the war against terrorism is already in full swing.
The security forces conducted 22,409 intelligence-based operations this year, he said, explaining that the armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, and other law enforcement agencies are conducting more than 112 operations daily.
“During these operations, 31 high-value targets have been killed. This year, 137 officers and soldiers laid down their lives in the operations,” the army’s spokesperson told journalists.
Lt Gen Chaudhry explained that the army had cleared several areas of terrorists, but if the government does not ensure the reconstruction of those areas, then the army will have to deploy its forces there to “hold the area”.
“The army is clearing the areas and holding them, and then it is the provincial government’s task to build and transfer. If you don’t build and transfer to the people, then terrorists will emerge again, and you will remain in a vicious cycle of ‘clear and hold’.”
The DG ISPR explained that if such a cycle continues, it will be easier for certain elements to incite the locals against the army and create a false narrative against the forces.
“In conclusion, Azm-e-Istehkam is a comprehensive campaign against terrorism. If we follow it, it will not just wipe out terrorism but also benefit the country. The stakes are very high.”
