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ISLAMABAD: The army has reviewed its operational plans and is ready to meet any aggression from India.
“We are fully prepared to respond to entire spectrum of threat,” Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif said while chairing a corps commanders’ conference at the General Headquarters on Tuesday.
The aggravating situation on the Line of Control and Working Boundary was high on the commanders’ agenda.
Also read: Three killed in cross-border firing along Indo-Pak Working Boundary
The statement came as three civilians were killed and 22 injured in unprovoked Indian shelling on villages along the Working Boundary (WB).
So far, there had been a total of 122 ceasefire violations by India both on the LoC and WB. Most of the casualty took place on the LoC where 14 people were killed.
“India is escalating the situation. There is a pattern to these violations that are on the rise. Civilians are being killed and private properties being damaged,” an official observed while briefing this reporter about the meeting.
Corps commanders warn ‘detractors and spoilers’ against sabotaging the Afghanistan peace talks being held in Pakistan
The army chief’s reference to thwarting Indian aggression across the threat spectrum, the military official explained, meant that the army was ready to dealing with the situation on the LoC and WB, as well as India’s alleged support to militant groups inside the country.
The army had been accusing India of fomenting unrest in Balochistan, Fata and Karachi.
DOMESTIC SECURITY: The meeting also reviewed the domestic security situation taking stock of the ongoing intelligence-based operations (IBOs) across the country and military operation, Zarb-i-Azb, in North Waziristan.
Military with the support of intelligence agencies and civilian law enforcement agencies had since last year conducted over 9100 IBOs in which 232 hard core terrorists were reportedly killed.
The IBOs, started after the launch of military operation to pre-empt terrorist backlash, was now being intensified to neutralise terrorist networks particularly in urban areas, the army said.
The army flaunts IBOs as a major success story.
“Army chief expressed complete satisfaction over noticeable change in the overall security situation of the country,” an ISPR statement on the meeting said.
RECONCILIATION PROCESS: The generals also discussed the Afghan reconciliation process that had run into problems following the disclosure of Taliban chief Mullah Omar’s death.
Reiterating army’s commitment to the process, Gen Sharif said: “It is the only credible way to achieve lasting peace.”
The military official, who briefed this reporter, hoped that reconciliation process would soon be back on track but avoided giving a timeframe.
The second round of talks which were scheduled for July 31 in Pakistan had to be called off at the last-minute due to the uncertain situation in the aftermath of confirmation of reports of Mullah Omar’s death.
The corps commanders warned against “detractors and spoilers”, who they believed were out to sabotage the process. “They are against peace and prosperity of Afghanistan and the region,” the conference noted.
The Army Chief had, a day earlier discussed the held up reconciliation process with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2015
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Baqir Sajjad Syed is the Foreign Affairs and National Security Correspondent for Dawn. His career of over 25 years spans print and broadcast journalism. He is a former UN Reham al-Farah Fellow and held a Pakistan Fellowship at the Woodrow Wilson Centre in Washington, DC. He can be found on X at @baqirsajjad.
