DND News Agency
Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has said that appeasement of terrorism will never be tolerated, adding that the state cannot be left to the whims of one person and the nation must unite to uproot this menace.
Addressing a press conference in Peshawar where foreign and national media from different cities was also invited on Friday, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry detailed that the Pakistan Army is (was) taking all essential measures to safeguard lives and property of public, and will continue doing whatever is necessary. He called for national unity on the issue of terrorism, stressing that no one’s politics or personality should be placed above the state.
Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry delivered a hard-hitting message emphasizing that Pakistan’s fight against terrorism is non-negotiable. He held weak governance, judicial inefficiency, and external interference; especially from Afghanistan and India responsible for the resurgence of terrorism, urging national unity and institutional strength to counter the menace.
In a strong tone, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry asserted that Pakistan’s national security cannot be mortgaged to another country; a clear reference to the recent statement of KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who said that Pakistan should talk to Afghanistan to secure peace.
During his three-hour-long media interaction, Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry touched on almost every key point directly or indirectly linked with cross-border terrorism originating from Afghan soil.
He touched almost all important factors, impediments, resolves that included importance of narrative building, highlighted the political-criminal-terror nexus, governance gaps in KP, Indian/foreign involvement in terrorism, and the failure to fully implementation the National Action Plan (NAP). He also mentioned that the availability of NATO-grade weapons to terrorists had changed the scenario of terrorism in the region. He also cited judicial shortcomings that allow terrorists to escape conviction.
According to statistics shared by the DG ISPR, 14,535 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) in 2024, resulting in 769 terrorists killed and 577 Pakistanis martyred (272 Army/FC, 140 police, and 165 civilians). In 2025 (up to September 15), 10,115 IBOs were conducted, 970 terrorists killed, and 516 Pakistanis martyred (311 military personnel, 73 police, 132 civilians). He stated that the number of terrorists killed in 2025 is the highest in a decade, with 70% of all terror incidents occurring in KP, where 3,984 attacks have been recorded this year.
While discussing Afghan involvement in terrorist attacks inside Pakistan, the DG ISPR revealed that more than 30 suicide bombers hailed from Afghanistan, 161 Afghan nationals were killed in terrorist incidents over the past two years, and 135 were neutralised while infiltrating across the border. He vowed that the Pakistan Army would make the land intolerable for foreign terrorists and their facilitators, regardless of their status or position.
“The blood of our martyrs will never go in vain and nobody would be allowed to politicize (martyrs) their sacrifices. “The people of KP are standing like a wall of steel against terrorism, and the nation salutes them,” he maintained.
When asked about the possibility of negotiations or dialogue with Fitna al-Khawarij, (TTP terrorists) responsible for killing innocent civilians and security personnel, Lt Gen Ahmed categorically rejected the notion and added:
“Who are we to talk to — those who behead children and play football with their heads?”
Explaining the political-criminal-terror nexus, he said that weak governance, smuggling, and the use of non-customs-paid vehicles facilitate terrorist infiltration and make tracking vehicles during attacks nearly impossible. He warned that governance gaps in KP are being paid for with the blood of security personnel, contrasting the situation with Sindh and Punjab, where better governance has reduced such incidents.
Talking about cross-border attacks, he maintained that Indian-sponsored terrorists are being hosted in Afghanistan despite the Doha Agreement, which explicitly prohibits Afghan soil from being used against any other country. He demanded that Afghanistan must not allow its territory to be used for terrorism against Pakistan and urged Afghan authorities to “seal the border.”
Responding to a question on engagement with Afghanistan, he said that Pakistan had engaged Afghan authorities through both direct and multilateral channels (without naming interlocutors such as the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, UAE, or China) and had provided concrete evidence but no positive response had been received from Kabul.
He added that after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, a large cache of American weapons was left behind, many of which have ended up with terrorist groups. The presence of groups such as TTP, IS-K, and BLA inside Afghanistan, he warned, poses a serious threat to both Afghanistan and the region.
Talking about the National Action Plan (NAP), he said that it was formulated after the 2014 APS tragedy with consensus among all political parties to eliminate terrorism, but successive governments failed to ensure its continuity. The revised plan, rebranded as Azm-e-Istehkam, contains 14 points, yet its implementation remains incomplete.
He emphasised the urgent need to strengthen the judicial system because the conviction rate remains extremely low. As of August 2025, not a single terrorist had been convicted in KP. He pointed out that between January and August, 33,389 illegal weapons cases and 10,087 narcotics cases were registered, yet conviction rates remain negligible.
When asked about facilitators of terrorists, Lt Gen Chaudhry said those facilitating terrorists, whether by compulsion or for personal gain, have three choices:
Hand over the terrorists to the state.
Join hands with state institutions to eliminate the menace.
Be prepared to face state action as facilitators.
He questioned the KP government’s interest in enhancing the capacity of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), mentioning that only 3,200 personnel are available to combat terrorism in the province most vulnerable to attacks. He reiterated earlier recommendations (from 2014 and 2021) that the police and CTD must be strengthened — implying that implementation is still lacking.
On the repatriation of Afghan refugees, he said the decision was first made in 2014 and reaffirmed in 2021, but the issue continues to be politicised.
