Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Monday that India might stage a false flag operation via maritime route to propagate a lie about a major strike on Pakistan.
“We have some evidence which indicates India’s false flag operation through sea routes,” said Lt Gen Chaudhry during a briefing to senior journalists, adding that the armed forces are fully alert.
The military spokesperson spoke to the country’s senior journalists today, during which he briefed them about the status of Pakistan-Afghanistan talks, cross-border attacks, counterterrorism operations, financial hubs of the terrorists, and India’s nefarious plans.
He categorically rejected the Afghan Taliban regime’s allegation of allowing the US drones to carry out attacks in Afghanistan.
“This allegation is false,” said Lt Gen Chaudhry, adding that Pakistan has not allowed the US to launch attacks on Afghanistan from its soil.
The military’s spokesperson further clarified that Islamabad and Washington have no such agreement which allows the latter to attack Afghanistan.
The DG ISPR told journalists Pakistan had killed numerous cross-border terrorists, many identified as Afghan nationals, and highlighted extensive opium cultivation funding militancy.
The military spokesman outlined a series of recent operations and allegations, saying that in clashes over the past three to four months, 112 foreign fighters were killed and that roughly 60% of the militants were Afghan nationals.
“In these actions, 206 Afghan army soldiers were also reported killed,” he added. The spokesman said counter-narcotics activity formed a key part of the campaign.
“Drones, the ANF and the Frontier Corps destroyed poppy fields in the Tirah valley,” the DG ISPR said, pointing to operations that targeted cultivation and processing sites.
He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had some 12,000 acres under poppy cultivation and that profits ranged from Rs1.8 million to Rs3.2 million per acre. “Local politicians and others are involved in this cultivation,” he warned.
The military spokesman said Islamabad’s problem stemmed from the Afghan Taliban’s failure to honour the Doha agreement.
“Taliban promised a Loya Jirga and a representative government in Doha, but they have not fulfilled that promise,” he said, urging political settlement while keeping open the option of further measures.
“We want peace and prefer negotiations; if talks fail, we will consider other means,” he added.
He additionally raised concerns about potential external provocations at sea.
“We suspect India may attempt a false-flag maritime operation,” the DG ISPR said, asserting that Pakistan was fully alert to such possibilities.
The statement also accused elements in Afghanistan of providing safe havens for militants from Balochistan and of relocating fighters into civilian areas to use them as human shields.
The DG ISPR framed the military’s actions as defensive and targeted and vowed that Pakistan would act to protect its territorial security if necessary.
This is a developing story and is being updated with more details.
