"In the coming days, we are hopeful the Karachi situation will see more improvement," Ghafoor said.

Karachi has other issues, however, like water, the DG ISPR explained.

Punjab

There have been six major operations conducted in the province with coordination with the police and Counter-Terrorism Department.

Over 7,000 IBOs have been conducted, and 22 terrorists killed in these operations, the DG ISPR said.

KP

There have been 27 major operations in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 817 IBOs, Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said.

There is no way to tell what the exact number of terrorists or terror groups in the country is, the DG ISPR said in response to a question.

"That's why this war is difficult. It is not written on anyone's face whether they are a terrorist, a facilitator or an abettor. However, we have to a large extent identified and targeted them. We are working brick by brick to bring normalcy back to Pakistan with the support and in support of other institutions," he elaborated.

CPEC security

Terming the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as "very critical for the progress of Pakistan", the DG ISPR said the armed forces would "give it complete security and will not let it fail at any cost".

"The entire country, the state's institutions, are all one on CPEC," he assured.

Army chief's message

The DG ISPR read out a message from Chief of Army Staff Gen Qamar Jawed Bajwa during the press conference: "We are building peace in our country brick by brick and moving from relative stability towards enduring peace. For this, the army should continue to perform its role with support of all other state institutions."