Heavy arms and ammunition seized from retreating Taliban forces are displayed amid ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq.
ISLAMABAD:
Security officials said on Thursday that Pakistan’s ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq against terrorist networks in Afghanistan would continue until credible guarantees are provided that terrorism would no longer be supported from across the border.
Ties between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban have been at their lowest level since the group assumed power four years ago. On Feb 22, Pakistan carried out overnight strikes on terrorist camps and hideouts in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar and Paktika provinces. The Afghan Taliban subsequently launched unprovoked attacks along the border last week. Subsequently, Islamabad initiated Operation Ghazab Lil-Haq on Feb 26.
While talking to journalists from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Rawalpindi, the security officials maintained that Pakistan had no issue with Afghanistan or its people, but noted that the Afghan Taliban regime had become a “proxy master” facilitating multiple terrorist groups, posing a threat to regional peace and stability.
They said the Afghan Taliban leadership would have to choose between maintaining relations with Pakistan or continuing support for terrorist groups.
They described Operation Ghazab-Lil-Haq as a continuation of Pakistan’s broader war against terrorism, adding that it would continue until there were credible assurances and practical steps from Afghan Taliban regime to end terrorists’ patronage.
Describing the terrorists as Khawarij, the security officials said they were promoting a “distorted interpretation of religion”. They stressed that terrorism, suicide attacks and violence against women had no connection with Islamic teachings and were contrary to religious and social traditions.
The added that religious scholars from different schools of thought had declared the fight against the Khawarij and their supporters as the highest form of jihad.
Pakistan has been targeting hideouts, facilitation networks and launching pads of Fitna al-Khawarij and Fitna al-Hindustan based on intelligence reports.
Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan.
The officials rejected claims that civilian areas were being targeted in Afghanistan, calling them contrary to facts that ignored the loss of innocent Pakistani lives in terrorist attacks.
They further said groups facing persecution under the Afghan Taliban regime had welcomed the operation, and added that Afghan official social media accounts and Indian-backed media outlets were spreading fabricated narratives.
Officials also noted that more than 200 intelligence-based operations were being conducted daily across Pakistan to counter terrorist threats. They stressed that national unity and full implementation of the National Action Plan were essential for eliminating terrorism.
Responding to concerns about regional developments, including tensions involving Iran, officials said claims that Pakistan’s security was under threat were unfounded.
They reiterated that Pakistan believed in maintaining constructive relations with all countries but remained fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
