The government of Pakistan took peace initiatives with India but they don’t agree on a dialogue.
Islamabad (Pakistan Point News – 6th December, 2018) Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor held a media briefing on Thursday.
LoC violations with India
The ISPR DG said that ceasefire violations have increased across the Line of Control (LoC).
Since 2003, the graph of ceasefire violations is rising and it was the highest in 2017. There have been 2,593 ceasefire violations in 2018 alone. At least 55 civilians were martyred 300 were injured which is the highest in Pakistan’s history, he said about the ceasefire violations from India.
They deliberately target civilian population which cannot be responded in the same way. It affects the relation between India and Pakistan, he added.
"The government of Pakistan took peace initiatives with India but they don’t agree on a dialogue. The opening of Kartarpur border is also being framed negatively," he said, adding that the border will be fenced from the entry point.
Terrorism
About terrorism, the ISPR DG said that the terrorist incidents have decreased remarkably and we pray that the terror incidents are completely eliminated.
About Balochistan, he said, which is 43 percent of our geography and 6 percent population had 65-70,000 troops deployed while FATA that is 3 percent of our geography has 200,000 troops were placed there. There has been a readjustment in security for socio-economic projects in Balochistan. At least 244 ferarries have surrendered in Balochistan.
About Karachi, he said the security and law and order situation has greatly improved. There were 4,508 incidents in 2003 as compared to no terrorist incident in 2017 and just two incidents in 2018. The credit for this goes to Sindh Rangers and law enforcement agencies, he said, adding that the situation will further improve.
Regarding Operation Raddul Fasaad, he said 44 major operations were held in the country under the operation. Near 32,000 weapons and over 4.34 million ammunition have been recovered in the operation.
No war can be concluded through operations. When kinetic operations end, there is a need to work on socio-economic development, he said.
Pashtun Tahafuz Movement
About Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), he said they had three demands: reduction in check posts, clearance of mines and missing persons.
He said that in FATA, KP, there were 469 check posts in 2016 as compared to 331 today. The DG ISPR said that the army cannot remove the troops in Afghanistan. With border fencing, he said the cross border terror will decrease significantly.
In 2010-11, a commission was formed on missing persons. Some complaints were directly in court which was later transferred to the commission. There were 7000 cases in 2011. There hearings are held on daily basis. Over 4000 cases have been resolved while 3000 are under process are 2000 are with the commission.
“Some of the terrorists were killed in the war. How can we prove how the missing persons were not a part of PTM. As long as emotions are considered, every missing Pakistani is just as dear to us as the family. The 70,000 Pakistanis who died in the war are also missing from the world. We want the process to further,” he said.
“The PTM went beyond this demand. We will tell what they are doing when the time is right. We have engaged with them politely because they faced terrorism in the past and still not resorted to violence. I request them that their demands are being fulfilled far before they raised a voice for them,” he said.
“Now where they are heading, they can cross a line where we the state will be bound to use authority,” the ISPR DG warned.
Army's Budget and Accountability
Other areas, he continued, which are questioned are the Army’s budget and welfare projects, and Army’s accountability.
“We are a disciplined force otherwise we would not have these successes. We have a discipline regime which holds us accountable. We have checks and balances to identify any mistake, then a correction regime and punishment regime. In 2017-18 alone, 400 Pak Army officers were punished in various offences,” Major Gen Ghafoor added.
