Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif stated on Monday that a “massive, illegal political mafia” in the country was attempting to sabotage the state’s Azm-i-Istehkam (Resolve for Stability) operation to serve its own interests.
During a press conference in Rawalpindi, the military’s spokesperson emphasized that the purpose of his address was to “clarify the army’s stance on some important topics,” amid the recent surge of “organized propaganda” against the armed forces, which was based on “false and fabricated news.”
When asked about the potential displacement in key areas due to the operation, Lt Gen Sharif remarked that “significant issues were being sacrificed on the altar of politics,” citing Azm-i-Istehkam as a prime example.
He underscored that it was a “comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign” initiated through national consensus and “not merely a military operation as it was being portrayed.”
Last month, the federal government approved the operation to counter a sharp rise in terrorist attacks across the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, following the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ending its ceasefire with the government in November 2022.
“A narrative is being built that the operation would displace people […] but the purpose of the operation is solely to reinvigorate the existing National Action Plan (NAP),” the DG ISPR said, adding that the operation’s document clearly stated this.
“A massive, illegal, political mafia emerged to sabotage the operation, and its first move was to make the operations controversial.”
Without specifying names, Lt Gen Sharif mentioned that a “very strong lobby” with “vested interests” opposed the success of the NAP, adding that this entity was “receiving substantial funds” to undermine the operation.
