Senior army officials reject reports about fresh military operation

PESHAWAR: Senior Pakistan army officials on Friday denied reports about the launch of any fresh military operation in the country, saying government and its armed forces will however continue their efforts till terrorism was eradicated in the country.

“There is no new operation planned anywhere in the country. Also, no displacement of the local population is going to happen and the nation should not pay attention to these rumours of the vested interests elements,” said a senior military official.

Speaking to media during off the record briefing, the military officials said that some vested interest elements have unnecessarily created confusion by spreading disinformation regarding the military operation.

According to the security officials, the Apex Committee in its recent meeting in Islamabad had never discussed any fresh military offensive in the country.

The committee, chaired by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, had expressed its resolve to eradicate terrorism in the country by strengthening the already launched offensive and intelligence based operations against the terrorists.

“Since 2024, 1063 terrorists have taken place in the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. The security forces conducted several intelligence based operations and killed 354 terrorists,” he said.

The military official added that 111 Pakistani security personnel, including officers, martyred in these IBOs and terrorist activities.

“It’s because of the sacrifices of the armed forces and back up of the Pakistani nation that currently no ‘no go areas’ anywhere in the country. Pakistan has largely fenced its 2600 kilometres border with Afghanistan but since Afghanistan has not secured its border, the terrorists enter Pakistan and carry out terrorist activities,” the military official.

If needed, he said Pakistan has the capability to conduct the operation against the terrorists as done in the past. “The terrorists are based in Afghanistan and they are using the Afghan soil for their terrorists activities against Pakistan. The government has recently discussed this issue with the Afghan government and they pledged to prevent their soil from being used against any country,” said the official.