ISLAMABAD: The top leadership of the country – both military and political – gathered on Tuesday at the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to send a strong message to India: we’re ready for anything.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, flanked by a full squad of national power players including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, and the heads of all three armed services, paid a high-stakes visit to ISI as tensions with neighbouring India hit boiling point.
PM Sharif and his top brass got an unfiltered, high-level briefing on the country’s current security posture – with a laser focus on conventional warfare readiness amid India’s increasingly aggressive and provocative behaviour on the eastern front.
The crucial meeting followed the April 22 incident in Pahalgam, Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), where 26 tourists were killed. New Delhi pointed the finger at Islamabad – a charge Pakistan blasted as baseless and designed to escalate tensions. But Islamabad isn’t just issuing denials – it is sounding alarms. Pakistani officials now claim they’ve got credible intelligence that India is plotting military action. If true, the two nuclear-armed rivals could be staring down the barrel of another war.
In a statement dripping with defiance, the Prime Minister’s Office declared Pakistan’s unwavering resolve to defend the homeland against all threats, conventional or otherwise, vowing to uphold the nation’s security, prestige, and honour under all circumstances.
The top leadership huddled over evolving regional threats, hybrid warfare tactics, terrorist proxies, and military contingencies. The unified takeaway? Be ready for anything.
PM Sharif praised ISI’s command for its professionalism and strategic acumen, calling it vital to the country’s decision-making amid fast-shifting regional dynamics. “Our brave armed forces are among the most professional and disciplined in the world,” he said. “And the entire nation stands firmly behind them.” In conclusion, the prime minister and his top team did not mince words, warning that Pakistan must remain vigilant, unify its forces, and stay battle-ready to counter any breach of its borders or threat to its sovereignty from arch rival India.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sharif emphasised that the National Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centre (NIFTAC) would play a pivotal role in eliminating terrorism and dismantling its support structures across the country.
He noted that breaking the nexus between terrorism, illicit networks, and external sponsorship demands robust and efficient institutional mechanisms.
According to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office, the prime minister – accompanied by the Deputy Prime Minister/ Foreign Minister, the Defence Minister, and the Chiefs of the Armed Services – visited the newly established NIFTAC headquarters.
He formally inaugurated the state-of-the-art facility, which will serve as the central hub for coordinating Pakistan’s national counterterrorism strategy.
Commending the efforts of all stakeholders involved in making the centre operational, the prime minister described NIFTAC as a critical national platform for collaborative threat assessment and response. As a federal institution, NIFTAC integrates over 50 relevant federal and provincial departments and agencies into a unified intelligence and threat management architecture, supported by a centralised national database.
At the sub-national level, NIFTAC is connected to six Provincial Intelligence Fusion and Threat Assessment Centres (PIFTACs), including those in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan – ensuring seamless coordination from the federal to the provincial level.
This integrated framework is designed to harmonise intelligence gathering, analysis, and operational response across multiple domains.
By leveraging the full spectrum of institutional capabilities, NIFTAC aims to strengthen national preparedness, optimise resource utilisation, and ensure a coherent, timely counterterrorism response.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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