DG ISPR sounds off on ‘illegal political mafia’ attempting to ‘sabotage’ Azm-e-Istehkam

RAWALPINDI: Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif on Monday lambasted “illegal political mafia” for trying to sabotage Operation Azm-e-Istehkam.

The ISPR chief made the comments while addressing a press conference in Rawalpindi. The conference, he said, was held to  “clarify the army’s stance on some important topics.”

“I will start by saying that our problem is that we are sacrificing even very important issues on the altar of politics and Azm-i-Istehkam is one such example of this,” he said in response to a question.

Lt. Gen Ahmed Sharif termed Azm-e-Istehkam a “comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign” as a result of a national consensus and “not a military operation per se as it is being presented.”

“Our issue is that we make every important issue … a joke because of our politics,” he reiterated.

DG ISPR said a “very strong lobby” was actively working against the National Action Plan “because the stakes in [sabotaging] operation are very high and it’s not based on any ideology but involves a lot of money.”

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

Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks, most claimed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), over the past several months. One of the most recent attacks targeted an army cantonment in Bannu, which claimed the lives of eight military personnel and injured several others.

A statement from the Foreign Office said Islamabad had lodged protest with Kabul in the wake of the attack.

The assault was linked to the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group, which operates from Afghanistan. The statement highlighted that this group, in collaboration with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had been involved in numerous attacks on civilians and law enforcement in Pakistan.