2,084 terrorists killed this year, 10 per day on average: DG ISPR

WEB DESK: Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry is holding press conference today to brief media on the security situation and ongoing counterterrorism operations across the country.

Opening the briefing, the DG ISPR said he would particularly focus on the situation in Balochistan, noting that 7,177 intelligence-based operations had been conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 31,080 in Balochistan. The DG ISPR: “Two thousand and eighty-four terrorists had been killed in operations so far this year, averaging around 10 killed per day. 819 security personnel and civilians had been martyred this year, at a rate of roughly four per day.”

He said a total of 3,145 terrorism-related incidents had occurred nationwide so far this year, with 1,971 incidents recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1,971 in Balochistan.

Of those, 303 were Pakistan Army soldiers and 394 were personnel of law enforcement agencies, while 322 civilians were martyred this year, he said. He added that 28 suicide bombings had taken place so far this year, and that, as in the previous year, the suicide bombers involved were Afghan nationals. He said Afghan nationals were involved in all such incidents, including those in Tank and Karachi.

The press conference comes as counterterrorism operations continue at pace across the country. According to the ISPR, 36 terrorists have been killed in operations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 36 hours. On Wednesday, 10 police personnel were martyred and 22 others injured when terrorists attacked a checkpost in Hangu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Turning to the definition of ‘hard state’, Lieutenant General Sharif said that it refers to a state which follows its constitution and rule of law: “Contrary to what is believed, hard state does not mean a state where military is above everyone but a state where elitism does not exist.” He added that the Constitution clearly lays out certain fundamental responsibilities for all citizens, stating that among these is the duty to remain loyal to the state.

“We must remain loyal to the country and uphold the Constitution,” he said, adding that loyalty to the state was the basic duty of every citizen. He said citizens could demand their rights only after fulfilling their duties.

Referring to remarks made by the Field Marshal Asim Munir at a workshop in Balochistan a few days earlier, Lieutenant General Sharif said: “The Field Marshal said in clear words that we talk about movements for rights.” He said the Field Marshal had noted that while rights were frequently discussed, duties were not. “We should also launch a movement regarding every citizen’s duties,” he said.

He posed the question: “Is it not the duty of every citizen that our first and last identity should be Pakistani?” He said citizens should not prioritise their tribal or ethnic identity over this. “Our identity is that we are all Pakistanis,” he said.

The DG ISPR said it was necessary to understand the fundamental and central position of the state of Pakistan. “If there is a state, there is politics,” he said. “The state is life, the state is identity,” he added, describing these as basic duties and urging citizens to reflect on whether they were fulfilling them.

He said he would go on to discuss two issues from which all matters relating to duties and rights stemmed, adding: “Today we have to get to the root problem of Balochistan.”

This is a developing story