Jihad declaration rests only with state: DG ISPR

SARGODHA: Pakistan Army Spokesperson Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that declaring jihad is the right of the state only, not of any group or individual.

He added that the state of Pakistan does not accept any non-state actors, and there is no place for any armed group or organization in the country.

In an exclusive interview given to a German magazine on September 5, the DG ISPR said that Pakistan hosted millions of Afghan refugees during the last 4 decades, but now systematic steps are being taken for their honorable return.

He said that Pakistan had extended the deadline for the evacuation of Afghan refugees on humanitarian grounds several times, but there is credible evidence that illegal Afghan residents have been found involved in terrorism and serious crimes.

Lieutenant General Chaudhry clarified that the main reasons for giving shelter to Afghan refugees were foreign interference and civil war, which no longer exist.

Talking about Indian policies, the DG ISPR said that the violent incidents in India are the result of its extremist thinking. India presents its internal problems as external and external problems as internal problems.

“There is solid evidence of the involvement of Indian state institutions, including serving military officers, in terrorist acts in Pakistan. Pakistan has presented this evidence to the international community many times.”

He said that the international community should play an active role in resolving the Kashmir issue. Indian state institutions, including the army, are under the influence of extremist political ideologies.

Mentioning Pakistan’s sacrifices against terrorism, Lieutenant General Ahmed said that Pakistan, as a frontline state, has made immense sacrifices in this war.

The DG ISPR also said that the weapons left in Afghanistan after the US withdrawal are being used by terrorists, which the US has also expressed concern about.

In the interview, he added that during the Pakistan-India tension and the struggle for justice, US President Trump’s leadership role emerged as a strategic leader, while Pakistan has constructive and strategic relations with its brotherly country, China.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said that the US has declared the banned Majeed Brigade a global terrorist organization and many terrorists killed in Balochistan were on the lists of so-called missing persons.