India poses biggest threat to Afghan peace process: DG ISPR

RAWALPINDI: Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar has said that India poses the biggest threat to the Afghan peace process and New Delhi is the biggest spoiler of the regional peace, ARY News reported on Saturday.

The spokesperson of the military media wing said in a media briefing that Pakistan is keeping a close eye on the regional developments besides playing a significant role in the Afghan peace process.

He said, however, Islamabad is not acting as guarantor as the decisions will have to make by Afghan parties regarding their future.

Major General Babar Iftikhar said that Pakistan’s peace is linked to peaceful Afghanistan and they have made preparations to cope with the challenges after the withdrawal of US troops. Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar expressed suspicions regarding the activation of terrorists’ sleeper cells with the support of anti-Pakistan agencies following the spread of violence in Afghanistan

“We have fought a long war against terrorists and grabbed the victory. Before the commencement of the Afghan peace process, we have initiated efforts to gain stability. At this time, 90 per cent of border areas with Afghanistan have been fenced while the remaining areas will be completed soon. The border-fencing of Pakistan and Iran border is also underway.”

The Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) further said that a biometric system has been functionalised at the border, whereas, Pakistan has significantly increased the strength of Frontier Corps (FC) and armed forces were training police and Levies forces in tribal districts.

Regarding the current situation in Afghanistan, Babar Iftikhar said that the series of incidents could be linked to the latest scenario of the region. He added that there is no organised network of terrorists existing in Pakistan after the operation, however, the terrorists in Afghanistan were backed by the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the National Directorate of Security (NDS).

Babar Iftikhar detailed that 42 terrorists have been killed in tribal districts and in the operations, the military personnel were also martyred.

The spokesperson said more than 82,000 lives were lost and a financial loss of over $142 billion was suffered by the country. He vowed that the enemy of peace will not be allowed to flourish in Pakistan and armed forces are very active in eradicating terrorism. He said that Pakistani armed forces are fully prepared to face any threat.

He said that Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was conducted across the country following the directives of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the armed forces fought a war against terrorism with the support of the nation. Under Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, thousands of actions were carried out against terrorists and all no-go areas were eliminated across the country.

The DG-ISPR said that the country has approved legislation to eradicate terrorism and Pakistan’s role was acknowledged globally. He added that border-fencing along Pakistan and Afghanistan was important for the peace situation of both countries. He reiterated that Pakistan will not allow its soil to be used against any country.

He said that India has made heavy investments in Afghanistan and now it is frustration over the developments. In Afghanistan, India had 62 camps and its intelligence agencies were used to operate in grey zones. Iftikhar said that Pakistan had exposed New Delhi’s moves in its dossiers regarding the Indian agencies operating in Afghanistan to back different factions against Pakistan.

The DG-ISPR said that whoever takes over Kabul, it will be difficult for India to operate against Pakistan from Afghanistan.

Babar Iftikhar said that the Kashmir situation is different from the Afghan issue. He vowed that Pakistan will raise the Kashmir issue on all forums.