RAWALPINDI: A senior security official has said that Pakistan does not want to conquer Afghanistan but only seeks to ensure its own security. However, operations in Afghanistan will continue until security objectives are achieved. He said terrorist attacks against Pakistan are being planned across the border and the Afghan regime is patronising terrorist organisations.
The situation in the Middle East does not pose any threat to Pakistan and comparisons between Pakistan and Iran are not correct.
The security official said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is serious about counterterrorism and fully understands the nature of threats. The provincial government is cooperating. It had already been stated that no major operation is taking place in Tirah and the people can return whenever they wish.
Speaking to senior journalists from Peshawar, the security official said Pakistan is not taking any action against Afghanistan or the Afghan people but is only targeting locations from where attacks are launched against Pakistan. “There is evidence of the Afghan regime’s involvement in most terrorist incidents taking place in Pakistan,” he said.
According to the security official, Pakistan has so far carried out 56 strikes in Afghanistan and will continue this process to defend itself. He said Pakistan has destroyed 226 terrorist posts in Afghanistan, including 36 launch posts from where terrorist attacks inside Pakistan were planned and launched. Pakistani forces also took control of some of these positions during operations.
The security official said that elements linked to Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hind, including Mufti Noor Wali and Hafiz Gul Bahadur, are being protected in Afghanistan. He said the Afghan Taliban themselves have eliminated the distinction between terrorists and their own ranks and have now become patrons of terrorist groups and this must stop.
The security official said the purpose of the strike on Bagram Air Base was to target weapon depots and logistical infrastructure that could be used against Pakistan. He added that Pakistan targeted its enemy in Afghanistan, not Afghanistan itself.
The security official said it is well known whose “super proxy” the Afghan Taliban government is acting as. He added that countries in the region and around the world have evidence about the presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan, and Pakistan’s friendly countries as well as the Afghan people support Pakistan’s demands.
He said the security of Pakistan-Afghanistan border is currently being ensured only by Pakistani forces, while Afghan forces are supporting terrorism instead of preventing it. “If terrorism continues in Pakistan, Afghanistan will have to pay the price,” he said.
The security official said Afghanistan will have to choose between Pakistan and terrorism, and there will be no concessions regarding terrorists.
The security official said Pakistan is militarily strong and has extensive experience of fighting different types of wars, therefore, it has no fear of any external threat. He reiterated that the situation in the Middle East does not pose any threat to Pakistan and comparisons with Iran are not appropriate.
He said whether it is a buffer zone or the Wakhan strip, Pakistan will defend its country under all circumstances. The Afghan people will decide who should rule Afghanistan, but what the Afghan regime is doing has nothing to do with Islam.
Regarding the internal situation, the security official said effective implementation of the revised National Action Plan can eliminate internal threats in Pakistan. He stressed that the nation must unite to eliminate terrorism, while the federal and provincial governments must work together to end extremism.
The security official said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is serious about counterterrorism and fully understands the nature of threats. If the provincial government further increases the capacity of the police, significant progress can be made in eliminating terrorism.
The security official claimed that firing from the Afghan side has decreased after Pakistan’s recent actions and that the Afghan forces’ claims about fighting and winning wars are proving incorrect.
