Pakistan reports 1,873 terrorists killed this year as border instability and regional geopolitics widen the threat landscape.
Pakistan Rejects Kabul’s ‘Armed Guests’ Claim as ISPR Warns of Expanding Regional Terror Threat
Pakistan’s military on Friday issued one of its strongest statements yet against the Afghan Taliban regime, dismissing Kabul’s claim that Pakistani militants living on Afghan soil are simply “guests.” The rebuke came as the country revealed fresh national security figures—showing an aggressive spike in counterterror operations, but also a deepening cross-border threat that Islamabad says is now openly facilitated from across the frontier.
In a wide-ranging briefing to senior journalists, Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry outlined how Pakistan’s security calculus has become increasingly complex—shaped simultaneously by Afghan militant sanctuaries, leftover American weaponry in Taliban hands, rising Indian hostility and foreign-driven information warfare targeting Pakistan’s internal cohesion.
A Relentless Counterterror Campaign: 4,910 IBOs Since Nov 4
Setting the backdrop, the DG ISPR revealed that 4,910 intelligence-based operations (IBOs) have been conducted nationwide since November 4, neutralizing 206 terrorists in under a month.
Over the broader year, Pakistan has launched:
- 67,023 operations nationwide
- 1,873 terrorists killed in 2024
- 12,857 IBOs in KP
- 53,309 IBOs in Balochistan
- 136 Afghan nationals among those neutralized
These numbers point to an intensified internal campaign, but also underscore a worrying trend: many of the groups involved in recent deadly attacks, intelligence suggests, now operate from across the Afghan border, often with safe passage.
Border Reality: “Not a Boundary, but a Battlefield of Terrain, Tribes and Terror”
Lt Gen Chaudhry painted a stark picture of the Pak–Afghan border, describing it as a “terrain dictated by mountains, not by maps.” He stressed that even advanced surveillance systems struggle in regions where:
- Army posts are 20–25 km apart
- Villages exist on both sides simultaneously
- Smuggling and tribal movement have functioned for centuries
- Kabul lacks any functional governance in border districts
“The world must understand,” he said, “border management is a shared responsibility. No state can seal a mountainous frontier unilaterally.”
But Pakistan asserts the real issue is not terrain, it is Kabul’s refusal to act.
“What Kind of Guests Come With Weapons?” Pakistan Rebukes Kabul
Responding to the Afghan Taliban’s remarks that Pakistani militants in Afghanistan are merely visitors, Lt Gen Chaudhry delivered a pointed rebuttal that has since dominated headlines:
“What kind of guests are these who enter Pakistan armed? Guests bring respect, not bombs and guns.”
He added that Pakistan’s problem is not with Afghans, but specifically with the Taliban regime, which:
- Provides full sanctuary to TTP and aligned groups
- Allows militants to operate “training and logistics centres”
- Enables movement using non-custom-paid vehicles
- Has failed to honour commitments under the Doha Agreement
Pakistan insists that a verifiable monitoring mechanism, even under third-party oversight, is urgently required.
A $7.2 Billion Danger: The US Weapons Left Behind
The DG ISPR cited SIGAR (Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction), confirming that the US left behind $7.2 billion worth of arms during its withdrawal.
According to Pakistan:
- These weapons now form the operational backbone of TTP and ISKP units
- They pose a regional threat from Iran to Central Asia
- Any nation supplying more weapons to the Taliban is “effectively arming terrorists”
This equipment includes night-vision gear, assault rifles, explosives and air-defense capable systems drastically improving militant capabilities.
India’s Rhetoric: “A Trailer That Belongs to a Horror Film”
The DG ISPR also addressed recent remarks from Indian military leadership, particularly the “trailer” comment made regarding Operation Sindoor.
In a rare, direct retort aimed at India’s top brass, he said:
“If in that trailer seven aircraft are shot down and S-400 batteries destroyed, then the full film would be a horror movie for India itself.”
He said Indian officials are peddling fictional narratives to deflect domestic anger.
Security Improvements: Smuggling Crackdown and NAP Enforcement
Pakistan also highlighted progress in internal stabilisation measures:
- Iranian diesel smuggling cut from 20.5 million litres/day to 2.7 million litres/day
- Funds from this trade previously fuelled BLA and BYC
- 27 districts of Balochistan: 86% of the province now under police jurisdiction
- 4,000 community engagements per month carried out by security forces
Officials describe this as a shift from purely kinetic operations to governance-driven counterterrorism.
Information Warfare: “Poison From Overseas Accounts”
In one of the briefing’s most serious claims, Lt Gen Chaudhry said that much of the toxic online content threatening Pakistan’s political and social stability is operated from foreign-run digital networks.
He added:
- Coordinated campaigns aim to erode public trust
- Anti-state narratives are amplified internationally
- External actors attempt to deepen polarisation inside Pakistan
He warned that digital warfare has become an “unacknowledged battleground.”