India sponsoring terrorist groups operating from Afghanistan, says DG ISPR

Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry has accused India of sponsoring terrorist groups operating from Afghan territory, stating that the Afghan Taliban regime was acting as a proxy in attacks against Pakistan.

In an interview with Reuters earlier this week, the military spokesperson rejected allegations that Pakistan was supporting former Afghan government officials, military figures or other groups opposed to the Taliban, questioning the credibility of the Afghan authorities.

He said Afghanistan was being run by a non-state actor and multiple armed groups and foreign proxies had established a presence there following decades of external interventions.

Chaudhry named the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) as groups operating as proxies of India, while also referring to the presence of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM), Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), Al-Qaeda and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) in Afghanistan.

He said such groups could not be tolerated in any country and argued that their presence in Afghanistan was reflected in United Nations reports and intelligence assessments by the United States and other countries.

Responding to concerns that isolating Afghanistan could worsen its humanitarian and economic situation, the DG ISPR said Pakistan did not seek the country’s isolation but wanted the Taliban authorities to act like a state.

He said Afghanistan should stop supporting terrorism and drug production, describing the two as the country’s main exports that posed threats to the region and the wider world.

Chaudhry said Pakistan was engaging with the Afghan authorities and asking them not to support attacks inside Pakistan or harbour militant leaders.

He named TTP chief Noor Wali Mehsud, BLA commander Bashir Zeb and Gul Bahadur among those who were present in Afghanistan. He further said that militant formations, weapons and logistical support for attacks in Pakistan were being provided from Afghan territory.

“If they do it, then there will be a cost,” he said, adding that Pakistan had a clear strategy and the capability to impose that cost.

On the threat posed by drones and other emerging military technologies, the DG ISPR said the character of warfare had changed and Pakistan’s armed forces were adapting to developments in conventional, cyber and non-contact warfare.

He said the proliferation of drones and other non-contact warfare capabilities among non-state actors, including the Afghan Taliban and Houthis, posed a threat to countries and required them to reassess their security arrangements.

Asked whether Pakistan was concerned about Afghan Taliban drone capabilities, Chaudhry said Afghanistan did not have its own drone industry or the relevant technology, adding that such equipment was supplied by external sponsors.

He again accused India of providing support to the Afghan Taliban and said Pakistan had demonstrated its ability to counter sophisticated drones during its previous conflict with India.

He added that Pakistan’s armed forces were better prepared operationally and had the capability to respond to potential drone threats.

On the use of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies in military operations, Chaudhry said Pakistan’s armed forces were adopting technologies considered essential to modern warfare.

He declined to provide details about how AI, quantum technology and cyber capabilities were being used.

“We are using all sorts of technologies. We are a technology-savvy army,” he said.