RAWALPINDI: Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Tuesday rejected statements made by KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi about holding talks with banned TTP.
Responding to Afridi’s statements suggesting that Afghanistan does not engage in terrorism beyond its borders, the DG ISPR said the claim is factually incorrect. He added that the international community acknowledges Afghanistan’s involvement in terrorism and that misleading statements are being made to confuse the public.
The military spokesperson described Afridi’s narrative as political in nature, saying it contains neither sound reasoning nor a clear strategy. He questioned whether the more than 3,800 terrorist incidents reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could be ignored while making such claims.
Raising critical questions, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif asked whether refusing military operations meant surrendering to terrorists.
He remarked sarcastically whether militant leader Noor Wali Mehsud should be made the province’s chief minister or allegiance pledged to him, and whether decisions for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would now be dictated by Taliban leadership.
He further questioned whether girls in the province should be barred from schools and colleges and confined to caves, emphasizing that no clear alternative plan has been presented by those opposing counterterrorism efforts.
The DG ISPR reiterated that Pakistan’s armed forces would not hand over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to terrorists. He paid tribute to political parties such as the Awami National Party (ANP), JUI-F, PPP, and PML-N for standing firm against terrorism and making sacrifices instead of bowing to militants.
He also pointed out that certain groups openly claim they do not wish to confront terrorists and questioned why such elements have never been targeted by militant groups, unlike mainstream political parties.
Concluding his remarks, the DG ISPR criticized the notion that peace in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa could be ensured by relying on Afghanistan, calling it an illogical policy to seek security guarantees from a country accused of spreading terrorism globally.
