CDF Asim Munir vows to crush cross-border terrorism, warns hostile proxies

ISLAMABAD: Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Wednesday said Pakistan’s armed forces were adapting their operational and development strategies to the changing character of warfare, while vowing to eliminate cross-border terrorism and dismantle militant networks backed by hostile intelligence agencies.

Addressing graduating officers of the National Security and War Course at the National Defence University Islamabad, the field marshal said modern warfare required strategic clarity and institutional professionalism to effectively counter conventional, hybrid and sub-conventional threats.

According to a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR, the CDF said that the armed forces were recalibrating their employment and development strategies in line with the evolving nature of warfare.

He praised the National Defence University for preparing future military and civil leaders to address increasingly complex security challenges.

The army chief said that the armed forces remained fully aware of state-sponsored attempts by hostile intelligence agencies to destabilise Pakistan.

He said that proxy groups and networks operating under the patronage of hostile intelligence agencies would not be allowed to undermine the country’s internal security or economic prosperity.

Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to counterterrorism, Asim Munir said that terrorism emanating from across the country’s borders would be “crushed with the full might of the state.”

He said that the armed forces, with the support of the nation, would ensure that terrorist sanctuaries used by such proxy groups, along with their facilitators, were completely dismantled.

The field marshal also stressed that wars could not be won through “media rhetoric or political sloganeering” but through “faith, unity and discipline.”

He expressed confidence in the professionalism, morale and operational readiness of Pakistan’s armed forces and urged the graduating officers to uphold the values of integrity, selfless service and unwavering commitment to the nation.

Earlier, upon his arrival at the National Defence University, the field marshal was received by the university’s president.