No army operation in Tirah Valley, if there were one, it would be officially announced, says Ahmed Chaudhry
Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, has dismissed reports of any Pakistan-US understanding on drone operations in Afghanistan, terming them “completely baseless.”
“Pakistan has no agreement with the United States, and no formal complaint about drones has been received from the Taliban regime,” Lt Gen Chaudhry said while speaking to senior journalists on Monday.
He added that the Ministry of Information had repeatedly clarified the matter. “There is no arrangement whatsoever under which drones operate from Pakistan to Afghanistan,” the DG ISPR emphasised.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said that the Taliban regime facilitating terrorists and Pakistan had made it clear to the Taliban during the Istanbul talks that it was their responsibility to control terrorism and to explain how they would do so.
“These were our people — when we launched operations against them, they fled to Afghanistan. Hand them over to us, and we will deal with them under the Constitution and the law,” he said.
Military spokesman said that Pakistan still wants to resolve issues with the Afghan Taliban regime. He said discussions in Doha and Istanbul were held on a single-point agenda — ending cross-border terrorism originating from Afghanistan.
He added that the main problem lies in the Afghan Taliban’s failure to implement the Doha Agreement. “In Doha, the Taliban had agreed with the United States that a Loya Jirga would be convened to form a representative government in Afghanistan. The Taliban have not fulfilled that promise,” he said.
“The solution to the problem lies in establishing a representative government in Afghanistan,” DG ISPR stated. He further said Pakistan disagrees with the attitude of the Afghan Taliban leadership, which has violated the Doha Agreement.
‘We have other ways to deal with situation’
DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that Pakistan desires peace and wants to resolve issues with the Afghan Taliban through dialogue. “We want peace and a negotiated settlement,” he said. “But if talks fail, we will resolve the problem ourselves. In recent days, we have already demonstrated that we are capable of doing so.”
He added that Pakistan had agreed to mediation efforts only at the request of a few third parties. “It is better that the Afghan Taliban resolve issues through peaceful talks. Otherwise, we have other ways to deal with the situation,” he warned.
During talks with senior journalists, Lt Gen Chaudhry revealed that Afghan military personnel were also involved in recent terrorist incidents inside Pakistan. “In the past three to four months of clashes, 112 foreign terrorists were killed, including 206 Afghan soldiers,” he said.
‘62,113 IBOs carried out so far this year’
He stated that a significant number of terrorists killed in border regions were Afghan nationals. “Afghan Taliban, the Baloch Liberation Army, and Khwarij elements are relocating their bases from border areas to residential zones,” he said, adding that “the purpose of this relocation is to use civilians as human shields.”
He further disclosed details of counterterrorism operations conducted in 2025, stating that 62,113 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) had been carried out so far this year, averaging 208 IBOs per day. He said there had been 4,373 terrorist incidents in 2025, during which 1,667 terrorists were killed, including 128 Afghan nationals.
‘Local politicians, influential figures involved in cultivation of poppy’
Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, said that terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) is directly linked to the narco-economy. “Around 12,000 acres of land in K-P have been used for poppy cultivation,” he revealed. “Each acre yields a profit of between Rs1.8 million and Rs3.2 million.”
He added that local politicians and influential figures are also involved in the cultivation of poppy. “The Afghan Taliban protect these activities because the poppy is transported to Afghanistan, where it is processed into ice and other narcotics,” he said.
Lt Gen Chaudhry said that due to military operations in the Tirah Valley, poppy crops were destroyed through coordinated efforts involving drones, the Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF), and the Frontier Corps (FC). He further stated that terrorist groups also profit from the use of non-custom paid vehicles and the smuggling of Iranian oil.
