Military warns against speculation on Faiz Hameed’s court martial

WEB DESK: The Director-General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, broke the institution’s public silence on the high-profile court martial of former spymaster Lieutenant General (Retd) Faiz Hameed on Saturday, firmly stating it is a “legal and judicial matter” and urging the public to avoid speculation.

The statement came during a wide-ranging briefing to journalists where the DG ISPR provided a robust defense of Pakistan’s national security policy. He clarified that Pakistan’s operations are exclusively directed against terrorism, not the Afghan people, and categorically denied any cross-border attacks on Afghanistan. “If Pakistan were to carry out an attack, it would do so openly, not secretly,” he asserted.

Linking the internal disciplinary process to the broader security challenge, the DG ISPR revealed that terrorists, labelled as Khawarij, are using advanced American weaponry left in Afghanistan to carry out attacks inside Pakistan, including the recent assault on the Wana Cadet College. He disclosed that since November 4th, intelligence-led operations have resulted in the killing of 206 terrorists in 4,910 raids.

Despite repeated negotiations with the Afghan government yielding no results, the DG ISPR stated Pakistan’s sole demand remains the elimination of terrorist safe havens. He confirmed that Afghan nationals were involved in four major recent attacks in Pakistan but reiterated that any potential action inside Afghanistan would target only terrorists, not civilians.

The DG ISPR confirmed the proceedings are ongoing and that a formal announcement will be made once a decision is reached, reinforcing the military’s commitment to legal and procedural transparency.

Challenges in Border Management and Accusations Against the Taliban

Addressing the complex issue of border management, Lt Gen Sharif countered what he termed as “misleading propaganda” against security institutions. He detailed the immense geographical challenges of the Pak-Afghan border, which spans 1,229 kilometers in KP alone and consists of extremely difficult and treacherous terrain. He explained that the distance between border posts can be as vast as 20 to 25 kilometers, and the presence of divided villages on both sides in KP makes controlling movement a significant challenge.

The military spokesperson directly accused the Afghan Taliban of providing “complete facilitation” for terrorists to infiltrate into Pakistan. He asserted that terrorism hubs and leadership are based in Afghanistan, from where militants receive weapons and funding that are used against Pakistan. “We have placed all the evidence before them, which they cannot ignore,” he stated. He also pointed to a “very strong nexus of political-terror-crime” in the border areas and a barely effective administrative structure on the Afghan side, questioning who is responsible for stopping the movement of non-customs paid vehicles and militant formations within the country.

Reiterating Pakistan’s stance, the DG ISPR said the country’s position on the Doha Agreement is “absolutely clear,” with a singular demand that the Afghan Taliban regime must cease its support and facilitation of terrorist groups operating against Pakistan.