ISLAMABAD (Kashmir English): Military leadership briefed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the Afghanistan situation at the army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.
According to a statement issued by the PM’s Office, the premier said that there should be zero tolerance towards the collusion between Fitna-al-Khawarij and the Afghan Taliban, and their malicious activities.
“The acts of the Afghan Taliban and Fitna-al-Khawarij against Pakistan are unacceptable,” he said.
The statement quoted the PM as saying, “The Pakistani Armed Forces, under the leadership of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defense Forces, are always ready to protect the country.”
Prime Minister Sharif emphasised that Pakistan knows how to defend itself against any aggression, praising the professional capabilities of the Pakistani Armed Forces for repelling the attacks on border areas and for retaliating vigorously.
“The entire nation stands by its Pakistani Armed Forces to protect the homeland,” he added.
Operation Ghaza Lil-Haq
The Director General (DG) of Inter Service Public Relations (ISPR), Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said that Pakistan’s armed forces had destroyed 73 posts of Afghan Taliban forces and had captured 18 in retaliation for unprovoked aggression from Afghan forces.
Addressing a press conference on the ongoing Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, the military’s spokesperson briefed that, according to a conservative estimate, 115 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and artillery pieces were destroyed.
Moreover, the DG ISPR added that so far 274 taliban regime personnel and khwarij have been killed, while more than 400 have been injured.
He told the media that at several places, the Afghan troops and the Khawarij accompanying them not only fled their posts but also left the bodies of their soldiers there.
“The Pakistan army has respectfully preserved these bodies as per protocol,” said DG ISPR.
The spokesperson further stated that the armed forces have taken out the battalion headquarters and sector headquarters. “All their posts, their gun positions, their tank positions were taken out.”
He said that the terrorists were killed selectively, and in determining the targets, it was ensured that no civilian was targeted.
According to the DG ISPR, 115 tanks and armored vehicles of the Afghan Taliban were destroyed, adding that Pakistan gave such an effective response that the whole world saw it.
Provding detail about the operation, he further maintained that the Infantry Brigade Headquarters in Kabul was targeted, while the Logistics Brigade Headquarters in Kandahar was destroyed.
“Targeted-based operations were carried out in Kabul, Kandahar, Paktia, Khost, and Paktika,” Lt Gen Sharif said.
He further said that the Afghan regime opened fire at 53 locations in 15 sectors, to which the Pakistan Army responded in full force. He stated that the armed forces gave an “effective, immediate, and brutal response” to the Afghan Taliban regime’s aggression.
