Political mafia made Azm-e-Istehkam controversial: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Monday said political mafia has made serious matters of national interest a joke, citing Azm-e-Istehkam as an example.

“Azm-e-Istehkam is a comprehensive and integrated counter-terrorism campaign, not a military operation per se as it is being presented,” the DG ISPR said during a press conference in Rawalpindi.

Operation Azm-e-Istehkam is a comprehensive effort against terrorism and was needlessly politicised, he said.

“The stakes are very high,” DG ISPR said, adding that a lobby does not want revised National Action Plan to succeed.

The DG ISPR, addressing concerns over the campaign, said that no-go areas do not exist across the country, clarifying that there would be no more displacements due to Azm-e-Istehkam.

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As there was much 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 which wants the objectives of Azm-e-Istehkam not to be fulfilled. It is being politicised.”

He said army has conducted over 22,000 intelligence-based operations in the ongoing year to eliminate terrorism in the country.

DG ISPR said that a total of 398 terrorists have been killed while 137 officials were martyred. He added that over 112 operations have been conducted each day in 2024.

BANNU ATTACK

Questioned about the weekend’s violence during a peace rally in Bannu and the alleged firing by security forces, DG Ahmed 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”.

DG Ahmed 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 (standard operating procedure) 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.”

DG Ahmed 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.”

DG Ahmed said security forces had thus conducted aerial firing as per the above code.