Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar said that fencing along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border would continue according plan, adding that martyrs’ blood went into erecting the fence.
Maj Gen Iftikhar made these comments during a presser in Rawalpindi, the first of the year, on the occasion of the Kashmiris’ Right to Self-Determination Day.
The DG ISPR said that the border fencing was being carried out to protect people on either side of the border and regulate trade. Maj Gen Iftikhar added that the work was 94 percent complete and would be completed in some time.
When asked for remarks on the rumours of a deal with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) leader Nawaz Sharif during the questions and answers session, the DG ISPR dubbed the rumours as a baseless speculation. He added that whoever talks about the deal should be asked about the evidence for it.
When asked regarding civil-military relations, Maj Gen Iftikhar said there were “no issues”. He added that the armed forces were deferential to the government and operated according to their instructions. The DG ISPR also urged the media to refrain from including the “establishment” into politics, adding that there were more important matters in the country to discuss.
Maj Gen Iftikhar also spoke about negotiations with the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan outfit during the presser, saying that talks were “on hold” and that operations were “ongoing”.
He added that the ceasefire expired on December 9 and was a confidence-building initiative taken on the demand of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The DG ISPR said that Pakistan had made a requirement for the interim Afghan govt to not let the TTP use their soil against the country. In reply, the Afghan government said that they would bring TTP to the negotiation table and make it so that they accepted Pakistan’s demands.
Maj Gen Iftikhar said that some conditions were made for the talks that were non-negotiable for Pakistan and that was why the ceasefire ended. He added that operations against the banned outfit were ongoing and that was how the country would get rid of the nuisance.
Speaking about relations with India, the DG ISPR said that conditions along the Line of Control remained peaceful under the agreement signed with the rival country in February 2020. He said the biggest bonus of the agreement was improvement in the lives of the locals who resided in the region.
Maj Gen Iftikhar went on to state that India was provoking regional security situation by its defense procurements, adding that the practice would only contribute to an “arms race”. He added that India was using propaganda to remove global attention from occupied Kashmir and its atrocities committed in the occupied valley.
The DG ISPR also rubbished allegations made by India regarding Pakistan’s infiltration along the LOC. Maj Gen Iftikhar pointed that India staged a false encounter in the Neelum Valley in the Kirin sector where they killed an innocent Kashmiri, blaming Pakistan afterwards. He also brought attention to the UN resolution passed on January 5, 1949, which grants Kashmiris the right to self-determination. He said the promise remained unfulfilled.
Reviewing the performance of the armed forces during the previous year, the DG ISPR called it “wonderful”. He said that 60,000 intelligence-based operations were carried out against terrorists under Operation Radd-ul-Fassad.
Maj Gen Iftikhar added that intelligence agencies had given out 890 threat alerts due to which 70 percent incidents were prevented. He added that over 70,000 mines were recovered and neutralized which saved numerous lives. The DG ISPR said that 248 troops were martyred during the previous year.
