ISLAMABAD(National times)- Pakistan’s security is the responsibility of its armed forces and that guarantee will not be given to Kabul, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director-general Lieutenant-General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said while briefing senior journalists. He said Pakistan has never celebrated the arrival of the Taliban and stressed that operations against militant groups including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and Baloch Liberation Army continue. The DG ISPR also rejected the suggestion of a formal agreement with the United States on drone operations, and said no official complaint had been lodged by the Taliban regime over strikes. Lieutenant-General Chaudhry told reporters that Pakistan’s armed forces are the guarantors of national security and that such a guarantee is not something to be handed to Kabul. He reiterated that Pakistan is engaged in counter-insurgency efforts against multiple militant organisations and that actions against those who attack mosques and seminaries remain ongoing. Responding to questions on drone strikes, the military spokesman said there is no agreement with the United States governing drone activity. He added that, at the Istanbul talks, Pakistani officials made clear the expectation that Afghanistan must not be used as a safe haven for terrorism and that the Afghan authorities must control militants originating on their soil. He said militants who fled into Afghanistan during operations should be handed over so Pakistan can deal with them under its constitution and law.

 Any aggression will be met with strong, severe response: DG ISPR

The ISPR described a close nexus between terrorism, organised crime and the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, saying those groups cultivate opium and earn between 18–25 lakh rupees (1.8–2.5 million rupees) per acre in revenue. That income stream, the DG ISPR said, interlocks with warlords and parts of the Afghan Taliban, creating a regional network that funds and sustains violent activity. The DG ISPR added that intelligence-led operations have been conducted in areas where Pakistan has denied conducting full-scale offensives, and said nearly 200 personnel were killed in such operations. On administrative questions, he noted that the creation of posts within the army is a matter for the government, not the military leadership, and said decisions about any imposition of federal rule rest with the federal government.