RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: The Director General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Thursday said in reply to a question that why no press release was issued after the recent Corps Commanders Conference that “Silence is also an expression”.
Last Tuesday a seven-hour long Corps Commanders Conference was held at army’s general headquarters in Rawalpindi amid an environment surrounded by an obvious tussle between Pakistan army and civil government which was further intensified after the deployment of Rangers outside the National Accountability Court (NAB) Court.
However unlike the past, no press release was issued after the recent Corps Commanders Conference.
While briefing media in Rawalpindi, the director general ISPR dispelled the notion that there existed any rift between Pakistan army and the civilian government.
The DG ISPR also said that unnecessary hue and cry was made over Rangers deployment outside NAB Court. He said that Rangers were deployed over security concerns as the former prime minister had to appear before the Court. However, he added that the unfortunate controversy occurred due to the miscoordination among concerned institutions – Police, Rangers and Civil authority.
Major General Asif Ghafoor said that all institutions should work together to defeat the conspiracies against Pakistan.
The director general ISPR stressed the need to collectively foiling the designs of hostile agencies. He said that we must not bow down to foreign narrative, and it is indispensable to remain united and undeterred to get the objectives accomplished.
Asif Ghafoor said that no Country in the world with the exception of Pakistan has faced and defeated terrorism with such resilience. He said that people in Pakistan should understand the context in which the army and intelligence agencies are being blamed to create chaos.
Furthermore, the DG ISPR said that by virtue of its geographical importance, Pakistan is critical to the region and even beyond. He said that it is an indispensable reality, the World looks to this region for their economic interests, and therefore instability in Pakistan will serve no one’s interest.
Reiterating that no organized terror outfit existed in Pakistan, the DG ISPR said that Pakistan army fully backed by the people fought a full-fledged war against terror in last four years.
The DG ISPR said that the ground operation in Rajgal Valley area of Khyber agency been completed while now the consolidation phase continues successfully.
Major General Asif Ghafoor said that more than 200,000 Pakistan army personnel are deployed on western border while over 100,000 personnel on eastern border. He said that army’s deployment on western border is not against Iran and Afghanistan; rather, it aims at to deal with terrorists as part of a joint mechanism.
The director general ISPR said that Pakistan continues to keep its army operational on its western border due to the threat of ISIS and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan.
In addition, he said that the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa will visit Iran soon to discuss the security matters particularly the issues related to border management with the Iranian leadership.
Asif Ghafoor further said that India’s regional hegemonic agenda hampers our anti-terrorist operations due to successive perpetual ceasefire violations. He said in 2017 alone, 40 Pakistani civilians have so far been martyred and 182 injured because of Indian ceasefire violations at the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary.
