'Political mafia' made Azm-e-Istehkam controversial: DG ISPR

Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry on Monday said political mafia has made serious matters of national interest a joke, citing Azm-e-Istehkam as an example.

“Azm-e-Istehkam is a comprehensive and integrated counter-terrorism campaign, not a military operation per se as it is being presented,” the DG ISPR said during a press conference in Rawalpindi.

Operation Azm-e-Istehkam is a comprehensive effort against terrorism and was needlessly politicised, he said.

“The stakes are very high,” DG ISPR said, adding that a lobby does not want revised National Action Plan to succeed.

The DG ISPR, addressing concerns over the campaign, said that no-go areas do not exist across the country, clarifying that there would be no more displacements due to Azm-e-Istehkam.

As there was much hue and cry over the newly announced campaign, the army’s spokesperson informed journalists that the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement on June 24 to clarify the matter.

“Azm-e-Istehkam is not a military operation. Why is Azm-e-Istehkam being made controversial? There’s a strong lobby which wants the objectives of Azm-e-Istehkam not to be fulfilled. It is being politicised.”

He said army has conducted over 22,000 intelligence-based operations in the ongoing year to eliminate terrorism in the country.

DG ISPR said that a total of 398 terrorists have been killed while 137 officials were martyred. He added that over 112 operations have been conducted each day in 2024.