Director General (DG) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar on Friday, during a press conference in Rawalpindi, said that the Taliban have said they will not let Afghan soil be used against any other country and “we have to take them at their word”.
The military spokesperson said Pakistan had already taken the necessary measures to guard the border and ensure security in the country, as the situation in war-torn Afghanistan moves at a rapid pace.
Maj-Gen Iftikhar elaborated that Pakistan had reached out to Afghanistan on multiple occasions to formalise border mechanisms, as it was felt that was the answer to the instability existing along the Pak-Afghan border.
“The political and military leadership in Pakistan had the foresight that something like this (Taliban takeover in Afghanistan) could happen. So, despite whatever has happened on that side (Afghanistan), the situation on the Pak-Afghan border is normal and under control.”
“This does not mean nothing can happen but we are prepared and won’t be caught unaware,” he added.
Pakistan had apprehensions that the situation would unfold in the way that it did and there could be a “spillover”, which is why it took the steps it did, he elaborated.
So far, 113 flights — both military and commercial — have landed in Pakistan from Afghanistan, he added.
“While we were involved in this war on terror during the last two decades, we have had three major escalations on the eastern border. At the peak of this period, there were more than 90 terrorist incidents taking place in a year in Pakistan.”
“After two decades, we can say we have fought off the menace of terrorism very well with the whole-of-nation approach. All these operations are the epitome of insurmountable spirit and supreme sacrifice of the whole nation’s efforts.”
Responding to another question, DG ISPR said there was no military-to-military contact with other countries for now. However, reports of India using wild animals to attack and conduct surveillance along the Line of Control (LoC) were “concerning”, he said.
“I hope the world holds them responsible for stooping so low. We are aware of those surveillance means and taking our measures to counter that.”
Replying to another question, he said that while there was “always a fear of a civil war” taking place in Afghanistan, the situation is volatile and nothing can be said about it as of now.
“However, right now, there is no civil war in Afghanistan,” he said.
He said that Pakistan is “hoping for the best” in terms of normalisation of the situation in Afghanistan but would not like to “speculate anything”.
