- ISPR says border valley being used by IS, other groups
- ‘No foreign boots on our ground in efforts against terrorism’
- Pak-Afghan border to have a fort or check post every 1.5km
Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor on Sunday announced the launch of Khyber-4 security operation under the Radd-ul-Fasaad (RuF) campaign to wipe out terrorists in the Rajgal Valley of the Khyber Agency.
Addressing a press conference on the launch of a new military operation, he said that the Rajgal Valley, next to the Afghan border, was being used by the Islamic State militants and other groups. He said that a division-plus size force would take part in the follow-up operation – Khyber-IV.
He said that the fresh campaign has been launched with the support of the Pakistan Air Force. He said that they hope to unilaterally secure the international border, eliminate hideouts and complete the state’s physical hold on Khyber Agency in the operation.
The army spokesperson also shared a countrywide breakdown of the security operations taken as part of Raddul Fasaad (RuF) campaign, launched earlier this year, stating that the security situation has improved as a result.
Talking about the situation on the Line of Control, he said so far 580 ceasefire violations have occurred this year — the highest in any year. “This indicates the Indian aim of diverting attention from political upheaval in Indian-held Kashmir,” he said and lamented that the Indian Army has the choice of opening fire on civilian areas whereas the Pakistan Army cannot do that to Kashmiris across the Line of Control.
“There will never be any foreign boots on our ground,” Major General Ghafoor said when talking about collaborative efforts against terrorism on the Pak-Afghan border. Referring to the ongoing phase-1 of fencing at the Pak-Afghan border, he said that on average there was a fort or check post every 1.5 kilometres.
Replying to a question on Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav’s case, the military spokesperson said that the army chief was reviewing the proceedings of the case and would take a decision on the agent’s mercy appeal on merit.
To another question, he stressed that there was no organised Islamic State infrastructure in Pakistan and nor will one be allowed. “However, the Islamic State is getting stronger in Afghanistan but is still far from making a base the way it did in the Middle East.” To a question, he said that there was no timeline for the operation as yet.
To another question, he said that the Pakistan Army had informed the Afghan forces ahead of the launch of the Khyber-4 operation, which the Afghan Army would be able to support on their side of the border if they wished. “All operations are conducted by our security forces,” he told another questioner.
The army spokesperson observed that reports of a joint border operation with the Afghan forces had surfaced during a visit made by a top-level US congressional delegation. Clarifying the reports, he said that the true meaning of this joint operation was when both the forces conduct operations at the same time. “There is a coordinated and complementary operation on their respective sides of the border,” he said.
He also said that the information would be shared with Kabul if the Afghan leadership wished to conduct supporting operations and coordination in this regard. “We will strengthen our border and we will be able to check cross-border movement of terrorists, and our coordination with Afghanistan in this regard is ongoing,” he said.
He also said that the shared border with Afghanistan and Iran were being fenced. Alongside the border fencing, Pakistan and Afghanistan would maintain an open-door policy for cooperation and discussion on bilateral issues, particularly in order to remove a trust deficit on the Afghan side, he said.
“If the Afghan Army were as capable as the Pakistan Army, then maybe the issue of terrorism would be resolved sooner,” he also said. “No one wants peace in Afghanistan more than Pakistan,” he said. “We need to bring peace in our country first,” he said.
Khyber in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas region is one of the eight tribal areas. It ranges from the Tirah valley down to Peshawar. It borders Nangarhar province of Afghanistan to the west, Orakzai Agency to the south, Kurram Agency to the south west and Peshawar to the east.
