Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Thursday said that no power in the world can harm Pakistan because this country is built to last.
Addressing an Ulema-o-Mashaikh Conference in Islamabad, the COAS also said that “anarchy is spread through social media”, according to remarks of his speech shared by the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media affairs wing.
“If someone tries to create chaos in Pakistan, by God, we will stand before him. No power in the world can harm Pakistan because this country is built to last,” the army chief said.
On the occasion, he urged scholars and clerics to encourage tolerance and unity in society instead of extremism or discrimination. He said that religious personalities should “bring back moderation in the society and reject corruption in the world”.
Addressin tg a press conference in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, ISPR Director General (DG) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry stressed a need for taking solid steps against “digital terrorism” under the law, and curbing the spread of fake news and propaganda in the country.
The DG ISPR said that the first line of defence against “digital terrorism” was the law of the country.
The military’s spokesperson said it is the country’s law that has to control and curb digital terrorism but unfortunately, “you can see that lies, propaganda –particularly on social media — fake news and doctored images continue spreading while confusion is created in the people’s mind”.
However, he said, the law was not taking its course against digital terrorism the way it should.
The term “digital terrorism” was recently used by a top military moot on May 30. As a result, it entered the country’s political vernacular.
However, the army spokesperson, said that the Pakistan Army was taking the matter very seriously.
He maintained that whoever — whether in Pakistan or abroad and irrespective of their position — was found spreading propaganda against the Pakistan Army, creating a distance between the army and the people, or was found to be involved in spreading fake news, the army would take necessary legal action against it.
The DG was asked about reports of ongoing dialogues with PTI and the army’s position on the May 9 riots. The DG ISPR replied that the army’s “very clear” stance was already stated during a press conference on May 7.
He clarified that neither had there been any change in the stance nor there would be in the future.
The DG flayed the rights movement Baloch Yakjehti Committee and its so-called leadership as a “proxy of terrorist organisations and criminal mafias”.
He alleged that the “proxy” was tasked to defame and spread propaganda against law enforcement agencies taking action against smugglers, criminals, and the “illegal spectrum”, as well as make development projects in the province controversial.
He said that the method of action was through gathering a mob through foreign funding and a foreign stance, persuade innocent citizens around that mob, challenge the state’s writ. He added that they feign innocence when the state responds.
He termed the Baloch National Gathering a “drama” that was concocted in the past few days in Gwadar.
On July 28, the BYC held a protest in Gwadar following arrests and deadly clashes with security forces.
The DG alleged that the protesters blocked roads, pelted pilgrims with stones, burnt tyres and attacked the Frontier Corps, claiming that one soldier was martyred by the mob.
He added, that this proxy was exposed under the Baloch Raji Muchi.
He also talked about the country’s security situation, effective measures taken against terrorism and the professional activities of the military, particularly the counter-terrorism operations.
He said the security forces and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) conducted 23,622 small and large-scale intelligence-based operations in the country. Out of the total, 2,045 operations were carried out over the last 15 days, he added.
He added that “24 terrorists” were eliminated during operations conducted over the last 15 days.
He said, it was important to mention that to fight terrorism, the Pakistan Army, intelligence, police and other law enforcement agencies conduct more than a hundred operations daily.
He said the government had recently notified the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as “Fitna al-Khawarij”.
“From now on, we will use the term Fitna al-Khawarij to refer to the TTP, while all terrorists associated with the group would be termed khariji (outcasts)”, he said.
He maintained this is because it is a mischief-making group; it’s neither an ideology nor has anything to do with Islam or Pakistan.
The DG said that 139 soldiers embraced martyrdom during the first seven months of the year. He added the entire nation pays tribute to the brave martyrs and their families.
He said, “This shows that the Pakistani security forces, law enforcement agencies and intelligence agencies were entirely focused on making the country’s internal and border security certain and lasting.”
The fight against terrorism would continue until the last terrorist was eliminated, he said.
