Inter-Services Public Relations Director-General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry strongly criticized Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leadership in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, holding the provincial government responsible for the surge in terrorism.
Speaking at a press briefing in Rawalpindi, he accused PTI leaders of creating obstacles in national counterterrorism policies and resisting anti-terror operations on political grounds.
The military spokesperson revealed that 71% of terrorist incidents in 2025 were reported from KP, where fatalities increased by over 40% compared to 2024, reflecting a worsening security situation.
Lt Gen Chaudhry stated that terrorism in the province was thriving due to a politically favorable environment and the growing criminal-terror nexus. He rejected calls for negotiations with militants and termed KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi’s remarks against military operations as illogical and unrealistic.
He questioned the provincial government’s opposition to counterterror drives and stressed that firm state action, not political ambiguity, was needed to defeat militancy. Governance failures, illegal mining, widespread illegal weapons, and refugee camps in KP were also linked directly to rising violence.
Addressing Afghanistan, he said the country had become a hub of regional terrorist operations and alleged that the TTP was receiving patronage from India.
The ISPR DG described an emerging India-Afghan nexus as fully exposed in 2025 and warned that Pakistan would respond decisively to any confrontation. He clarified that Pakistan Army drones were used only for surveillance while militants were employing armed quadcopters for attacks.
Providing operational statistics, he said law enforcement agencies conducted more than 75,000 intelligence-based operations nationwide last year, killing 2,597 terrorists.
He emphasized that Pakistan makes no distinction among terrorists and the fight against terrorism is a collective national war. He also warned that social media platforms were being misused for terrorism promotion and called for strict enforcement of Pakistani laws to safeguard citizens and society.
