Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif on Monday said any decision regarding the deployment of Pakistani troops to Gaza for peacekeeping duties would be taken by the government and parliament.
Addressing a media briefing in Rawalpindi, the military spokesperson said the matter of the 27th constitutional amendment rested with parliament, stressing that the Pakistan Army wished to remain away from politics.
“The Pakistan Army should be kept separate from political matters,” he said, reaffirming that the military’s focus remained on national security and the protection of the country’s borders and people. “Pakistan is fully prepared to defend its frontiers and citizens,” he added, noting that Pakistan formulates its policies independently as a sovereign state.
Lt Gen Sharif emphasised that Pakistan’s armed forces were the guarantors of the country’s security, not Afghanistan.
No talks with terrorists
The ISPR chief ruled out negotiations with terrorist groups, stressing that Pakistan’s priority was the complete elimination of terrorism. He said 1,667 terrorists had been killed in operations against the network Fitna al Khawarij, though some criminal and terrorist elements linked to political groups continued to obstruct efforts to curb smuggling and organised crime.
“The Taliban desecrated the bodies of our soldiers. How can we negotiate with them?” he said, rejecting recent calls by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to open talks with terrorists.
He noted that conditions set by the Afghan authorities for talks were “irrelevant,” adding that Pakistan’s response to cross-border attacks had been “swift and effective.”
Operations to continue
Lt Gen Sharif said operations against banned groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), would continue until the threat was fully neutralised. He accused the Afghan Taliban regime of facilitating terrorist groups and urged Kabul to hand over terrorists who fled across the border during earlier military operations so they could be tried under Pakistani law.
No accord with US on drone operations
The ISPR DG dismissed reports of any agreement with the United States regarding drone operations in Afghanistan, saying no such accord existed and no complaint had been received from the Afghan authorities.
He also highlighted the nexus between terrorism and organised crime, noting that narcotics trafficking in Afghanistan was a major source of funding for terrorist groups. “Opium cultivation earns between Rs1.8 million and Rs2.5 million per acre, and profits are shared among the Afghan Taliban, TTP, and local warlords,” he said.
Border management
Commenting on border security, Lt Gen Sharif said Pakistan’s frontier with Afghanistan stretched over 2,600 kilometres of difficult terrain, making it impractical to establish posts at every point.
“A post is set up roughly every 25 to 40 kilometres,” he said, adding that there had been instances of Afghan border guards firing to facilitate terrorist crossings, to which Pakistani forces responded appropriately.
He reiterated that Pakistan’s stance at the recent Istanbul meeting was clear: there should be no terrorism, no foreign interference, and no use of Afghan soil for attacks against Pakistan.