Peace between Pakistan, Afghanistan depends on Taliban renouncing support for terrorists: CDF Munir
Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir on Wednesday said that peace between Pakistan and Afghanistan could only prevail if the Taliban regime “renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations”.
According to a statement by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), CDF Munir made the remarks as he visited Wana in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan to review the prevailing security situation and operational preparedness along the Western border.
“He reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations,” the statement said.
It said that CDF Munir laid a floral wreath at the martyrs’ monument to pay homage to those who had rendered supreme sacrifices in defence of the motherland.
“He offered fateha and reaffirmed that the sacrifices of shuhada remain the cornerstone of Pakistan’s security and resilience,” it added.
During the visit, CDF Munir was given a comprehensive briefing on the security environment, ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures in place for border management, it said.
“The Field Marshal was briefed in detail regarding the ongoing Operation Ghazab Lil Haq and developments along the Pakistan–Afghanistan border,” it said.
It added that CDF Munir interacted with the officers and troops deployed in forward areas, commending their unwavering professionalism, operational vigilance, and high morale during the ongoing skirmishes
“He lauded their steadfast commitment to safeguarding Pakistan’s sovereignty and ensuring peace and stability in the region,” it said.
“The Field Marshal emphasised that the use of Afghan soil by Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan for acts of terrorism against Pakistan was unacceptable and all necessary measures would be taken to neutralise the threat emanating from across the border,” the statement said.
Fitna al Khawarij is a term the state uses for terrorists belonging to the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan while Fitna al Hindustan is a term designated by the state for terrorist organisations in Balochistan.
“He reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organisations,” the statement said.
Appreciating the Pakistan Army’s operational preparedness, CDF Munir also expressed full confidence in the combat readiness, synergy, and resilience of the formations deployed along the Pakistan-Afghanistan Border, it concluded.
Relations between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban are at their lowest point in the four years since the group came to power.
Last year in October, border clashes had erupted between Pakistan and Afghanistan across their 2,600-kilometre frontier. Following those clashes, Turkiye and Qatar had stepped in to mediate.
The first round in Doha produced a fragile ceasefire, while the second, also in Doha, ended with only a general agreement to develop a mechanism for verifying compliance and a decision to continue talks. The third round concluded without any concrete agreement.
On Feb 22, Pakistan targeted terrorist camps and hideouts overnight in the Nangarhar and Paktika provinces of Afghanistan, which led to the Afghan Taliban launching unprovoked attacks along the border last week.
In response, Pakistan initiated Operation Ghazab lil-Haq on Feb 26. In a briefing on Monday, a senior security official said that Pakistan was in no hurry to wind up ‘Operation Ghazab lil Haq’, and would continue cross-border action against terrorist sanctuaries inside Afghanistan until Kabul offers verifiable guarantees against terrorism facilitation.
“Operations in Afghanistan will end when Afghanistan’s Taliban Regime provides verifiable assurance of compliance to Pakistan’s demand of quitting facilitation of Fitna al Khawarij and Fitna al Hindustan. We are in no hurry,” the top official said in an interaction with journalists.