RAWALPINDI:  Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the political mafia wants to make Operation Azm-e-Istehkam controversial.

During press conference in Rawalpindi, DG ISPR Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif said that has been an increase in organized propaganda and false news against the armed forces in recent times, so it is necessary to handle these issues.

He said it was not just a military operation as portrayed by some disgruntled elements, rather a comprehensive drive to flush out anti-state individuals and mafias, hell bent upon to disrupt peaceful environment in the country.

The ISPR DG specifically highlighted major aspects of the operation in the wake of of an organized campaign against state institutions, based on fake and baseless news.

Lieutenant General Sharif gave the breakup of counter-terrorism drive during the current year as some 22,409 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) were conducted that resulted in elimination of 398 terrorists. On average 112 IBOs were done on daily basis by the army, police and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) that helped in elimination of 31 high value targets (most wanted terrorists), he added,

During these counter-terrorism activities, 137 officers and soldiers embraced martyrdom in 2024 whereas the armed forces paid tribute to the families of these martyrs.

“Amid growing propaganda and lies, it is imperative to hold regular media briefings to debunk false news,” he added.

He pointed out that a massive, illegal political mafia was trying to sabotage the state’s Azm-i-Istehkam (Resolve for Stability) operation.

Replying to a query regarding the displacement, he said crucial issues were being targeted just for political gains, adding that Azm-i-Istehkam was one such example.

Last month, the federal government approved the operation to counter due to terrorist attacks across the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.

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“A narrative is being built that the operation would displace people but the purpose of the operation was only to reinvigorate the already in-place National Action Plan (NAP),” the DG ISPR said, adding that the policy document of the operation clearly mentioned this aspect.