PESHAWAR — Pakistan’s top military spokesperson has warned that the country’s failure to effectively implement the National Action Plan (NAP) a counterterrorism framework agreed upon by all political parties has allowed terrorism to resurge, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).
Addressing a press conference on Friday, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR), Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, said the rise in terrorist activity was a direct result of internal policy failures and weak provincial governance.
“Terrorism exists today because we are not following the National Action Plan,” he said, calling for renewed national unity and accountability.
Governance Gaps and Rising Violence
Lt Gen Chaudhry noted that around 70% of terrorist incidents in Pakistan now occur in K-P, where “the provincial government has fallen into the terror-crime nexus.” He blamed poor governance, failure to curb illegal activities, and the selective enforcement of NAP for creating conditions that allow extremist groups to thrive.
“When the suggestion was made to seal the Pak-Afghan border, certain people in power opposed it just to protect their own criminal networks,” he revealed. “This allowed lawlessness to flourish and terrorism to breed.”
The DG ISPR reminded that the National Action Plan, formulated after the Army Public School (APS) tragedy, was a consensus-based strategy involving all political parties. “You all agreed on it but is it being implemented?” he asked pointedly.
He lamented that despite renewed commitments in 2021, progress had stalled, and key provisions were either watered down or ignored. “The absence of political will has led us here,” he said.
Military Operations and Statistics
Providing an operational overview, Lt Gen Chaudhry shared that in 2024, Pakistan’s security forces conducted 14,535 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) in K-P, killing 769 terrorists, including 58 Afghan nationals, while 272 army and FC personnel, 140 policemen, and 165 civilians were martyred.
In 2025 (up to September 15), 10,115 operations have been carried out, resulting in 970 terrorists killed and 311 soldiers martyred. Nationwide, 57,320 IBOs have taken place this year, with K-P alone accounting for 70.5% of all terrorist incidents and 917 out of 1,422 terrorists eliminated across Pakistan.
“The main battleground remains Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” he said, praising the resilience of the local population and security forces.
Afghanistan Factor and Cross-Border Terrorism
Commenting on regional dynamics, the DG ISPR said the roots of terrorism were not just across the border but within Pakistan’s own governance failures. However, he acknowledged that Afghanistan continues to serve as a base for anti-Pakistan militants.
“We have historical and cultural ties with Afghanistan, but we cannot allow its soil to be used for terrorism against Pakistan,” he stressed.
He displayed visuals showing the continued presence of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) leaders in Afghanistan, including Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud, Ikram Ullah Mehsud, and Hidayat Ullah. He noted that the TTP now includes a growing number of Afghan nationals, a trend confirmed by Pakistan’s Special Representative on Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq.
According to DG ISPR, evidence shows that abandoned US military equipment worth $7.2 billion in Afghanistan is now being used by terrorists against Pakistan.
“We continue to engage with Afghanistan at multiple levels, but appeasement of terrorists and their facilitators is never a policy,” he said.
Judicial System Under Fire
Lt Gen Chaudhry also expressed frustration over the judicial system’s inability to support counterterrorism efforts. Despite thousands of successful military operations, he said, the courts had recorded “zero convictions” in counterterrorism cases this year.
With 4,683 CT cases pending, he warned that “a weak and indecisive judicial system” was undermining the sacrifices of soldiers and police officers.
“False narratives keep spreading while our judicial system remains paralysed,” he remarked. “The vacuum created by poor governance is being filled by the blood of the martyred.”
Political Will and National Responsibility
The DG ISPR cautioned that the politicisation of counterterrorism and disregard for national consensus had weakened Pakistan’s collective fight against militancy. “Calling for talks with non-state actors is a failure of governance,” he said bluntly, referencing past attempts at reconciliation with militants.
He urged political leaders to revive and enforce the National Action Plan in letter and spirit, emphasizing that counterterrorism cannot succeed without unified political, judicial, and administrative resolve.
“Status quo will not be tolerated,” he concluded, calling for decisive action to restore peace and stability in the country’s most volatile regions.
