• ISPR chief blames ‘mafias’ and ‘vested interests’ for whipping up opposition to counter-terror drive
• Complains about lack of action against ‘digital terrorists’; claims Bannu protest turned violent because of leeway afforded to May 9 perpetrators

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to clear the air around ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ — a military effort to reinvigorate counter-terrorism efforts anno­unced last month — the military’s chief spokesperson on Monday alleged that a ‘mafia’ with vested interests was looking to sabotage the proposed campaign.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Inter-Services Public Rela­tions (ISPR) chief Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry clarified that Azm-i-Istekham was not a military operation, rather a “cohesive counter-terrorism campaign” that aimed to flush out “anti-state individuals and mafias, hell-bent on disrupting peaceful environment in the country”.

He asserted that vested interests were whipping up the narrative that the action would entail a mass displacement in target areas, and lamented that “very important issues are being sacrificed at the altar of politics”.

The purpose of propaganda against the campaign, he claimed, was to sustain a “terror and crime nexus”, and regretted that confusion was being created about an issue “critically linked with national survival”.

He said the counter-terrorism ca­m­paign had been launched thro­ugh national consensus, in line with the National Action Plan (NAP).

“A massive illegal, political mafia rose to sabotage the operation and the first move of that mafia was to make the operation controversial through false and fake arguments,” the ISPR chief added.

He said that a “very strong lobby” had a “vested interest”, because of which it didn’t want NAP to succeed.

He also alleged that the entity in question was “receiving a lot of money” to subvert the operation.

Bannu peace march

In response to a question, he said that peace marchers in Bannu had raised slogans against the army and also pelted personnel with stones.

A video clip from the march was also played during the presser, showing armed protesters attacking a wall of the Bannu cantonment.

“Some armed protesters resorted to gunfire as a result of which there were injuries,” he claimed, adding that a temporary wall was also torn down by the protesters and the supply depot was looted.

“This is how it happened. The army’s response was as per the SOP (standard operating procedure) and according to orders,” he explained.

He went on to say that when a chaotic crowd” set upon a military installation, it was first “given a clear warning” following which firing into the air was carried out. “If it still does not stop then it is treated how it should be.” He said that the security forces had thus carried out the aerial firing as per the above code of conduct.

“The issue is why all of this happened. This happened because discord, mob mentality, and fascism will further increase in the country when your legal and judicial system gives leeway to the perpetrators and facilitators of the May 9 incident and doesn’t bring them to justice,” he said while referring to the events following Imran Khan’s arrest in 2023.

The DG also said that controlling riots and maintaining the law and order situation was the responsibility of the provincial government and not the military. He also said that military did not have anything to do with the TLP sit-in at Faizabad.

‘Digital terrorism’

As the military faces criticism on social media over various reasons, its spokesperson on Monday hit out at detractors, whom he referred to as ‘digital terrorists’, and linked the ‘propaganda’ against the state institution to the leeway given to the perpetrators. He said “digital terrorists” were using tools such as cell phones, computers, falsehoods and propaganda to impose their will on society just like terrorists.

The ISPR DG questioned the lack of action against such individuals despite their activities against the leadership of the state and other institutions. “Instead of the courts and regulations moving against them, they’re given further space and they’re made heroes in the name of freedom of expression,” he said.

Although the ISPR chief did not name the entity the military holds responsible for the campaign, observers feel it is quite obvious that he was referring to the PTI. This impression is lent credence by the repeated allusions to the events of May 9.

Anti-terror operations

The ISPR chief said the army was conducting four to five operations every hour on a daily basis and that the war against terrorism was already in full form. The security forces conducted 22,409 intelligence-based operations this year, he said, explaining that armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, and other law enforcement agencies were conducting more than 112 operations daily.

“During these operations, 31 most wanted targets were killed. This year, 137 officers and soldiers laid their lives in the operations,” the army’s spokesperson told journalists. He said as many as 22,409 operations had been carried out this year during which 398 alleged terrorists were killed.

Lt Gen Chaudhry explained that the army had cleared several areas of terrorists but if the governments do not ensure reconstruction of those areas, then the army will have to deploy its forces over there to “hold the area”.

“The army is clearing the areas, holding it, and then it is the provincial government’s task to build and transfer. If you don’t build and transfer to the people, then terrorists will emerge again and you will remain in a vicious cycle of ‘clear and hold’.”

In response to the presser, PTI leader Omar Ayub quipped that the press conference was the failure of the government.

He added that the press conference seemed like it was being addressed by a finance minister instead of the army spokesperson.

Published in Dawn, July 23rd, 2024