Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif, in a press conference in Rawalpindi, stated that a “massive, illegal political mafia” has risen to undermine the operation due to “vested interests”.
Sharif clarified that Azm-i-Istehkam is not just a military operation but a comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign launched through national consensus to reinvigorate the already in-place National Action Plan (NAP).
He stressed that the purpose of the operation is to eliminate terrorism, which will eventually lead to “societal and national uplift”.
However, the DG ISPR accused a “very strong lobby” of having a vested interest in sabotaging the operation, as it does not want the NAP to succeed.
He alleged that this entity is receiving a lot of money to subvert the operation.
“The stakes in [sabotaging] this operation are very high, and it’s not based on any ideology but involves a lot of money,” he said.
Precursor to army intervention?
Lt Gen Sharif stated that the “illegal political mafia” made the first move to make the operations controversial through false and fake arguments.
He pointed out that the problem lies in the implementation of the NAP’s other points, such as the regularisation and registration of religious seminaries, where only a bit over 16,000 out of about 32,000 seminaries have been registered so far. He questioned whether the army should be responsible for these tasks.
The DG ISPR also mentioned the issue of the “illegal spectrum”, which hides a major illegal economy through which the criminal system and terrorism operate. He said the requirement of the illegal spectrum is a “soft state” and the solution to it is the National Action Plan.
While the DG ISPR’s statements highlight the challenges faced by the government in implementing its counter-terrorism strategy, it is essential to note that the army’s involvement in political matters can be a sensitive issue.
The military has historically played a significant role in the country’s politics, and its direct intervention in political affairs has often been a subject of controversy.
It remains to be seen whether the army will take a more active role in the country’s affairs in response to the alleged sabotage of the counter-terrorism campaign by the “illegal political mafia”.