Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir has said that formations of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) infiltrating into Pakistan mostly comprised Afghans.

“In the TTP formations coming [into Pakistan], 70 per cent are Afghans,” he said.

The defence forces’ chief made this statement at the National Ulema Conference held in Islamabad on December 10. However, details of the Field Marshal’s address at the conference were scant thus far and clips of his speech from the event were broadcast on television today.

Islamabad has repeatedly urged Kabul to put an end to the use of Afghan soil by terrorists for carrying out attacks in Pakistan. Kabul, however, denies the allegation.

Turning his attention to the matter at the conference, CDF Munir questioned: “Is Afghanistan not spilling the blood of our Pakistani children?”

He recalled that the Afghan Taliban had been told to choose between Pakistan and the TTP.

Speaking about the four-day May conflict with India, he said in Pakistan’s retaliatory operation during the confrontation, Bunyanum Marsoos, the armed forces received “divine help”.

“We felt it,” he commented.

India launched a series of strikes in the early hours of May 7 across Pakistan, an act which led to the worst between the old foes in decades. Both sides used fighter jets, missiles, artillery and drones during the four-day conflict, killing dozens of people, before agreeing to a ceasefire.

The confrontation followed an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which resulted in the death of 26 people. While New Delhi blamed Islamabad for the attack without evidence, Pakistan denied involvement, with the foreign ministry questioning the credibility of India’s account of the events and saying it was “replete with fabrications”.

The Field Marshal also stated that there were 57 Islamic countries in the world, and among them, “God gave us the honour of being the protectors of Haramain Sharifain (a reference to Makkah and Madina)”.

He also drew parallels between Pakistan and the Islamic State established in Saudi Arabia 1,400 years ago. “Both are founded for the same reason […], were founded in the same month, the Ramazan, and their establishment involved the element of migration.”

The CDF further said that no one could order jihad in an Islamic state other than the state itself.

“No one can issue a fatwa for jihad without the order and permission and will of those vested with the authority,” he said during the conference.

The Field Marshal also cited multiple verses from the Quran during his address.