KEY TAKEAWAYS:
Field Marshal Asim Munir vowed Pakistan will hit “Indian-sponsored” militant groups hard during a Peshawar visit, a day after a Karak gunbattle killed four police officers. The visit followed an apex committee meeting and a Rs160 billion development pledge for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Pakistan’s army chief drew a hard line against militancy in the country’s northwest on Friday, pledging that the armed forces would strike at groups he described as “Indian-sponsored” terrorist outfits “hard wherever they are”. The remarks by Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, who also serves as chief of defence forces, came during a visit to the Corps Headquarters in Peshawar — the day after a gunbattle in Karak district killed four police officers.
According to a statement from the military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Munir was briefed on the prevailing security situation, ongoing counterterrorism operations, border management measures and the operational readiness of formations deployed across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He was received on arrival by the Peshawar Corps commander.
During the visit, the army chief commended the morale and professionalism of officers and troops, and directed them to maintain vigilance and the highest standards of operational readiness to counter security threats. He paid tribute to the fallen and wounded personnel of the security forces, expressing confidence that with the support of the people, Pakistan would “inflict total defeat on the terrorists and their perverted ideology”.
The visit came a day after a gunbattle in the province’s Karak district in which four police officers — including a senior counterterrorism official — and two suspected militants were killed, police said. It also followed a Federal Apex Committee meeting at the Governor House in Peshawar on Thursday, chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by Munir, at which the premier defended the imposition of emergency and governor’s rule and announced a Rs160 billion development package for the province.
The Peshawar trip is the army chief’s most visible public move since emergency rule was imposed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on October 11, transferring the province’s executive powers to a federally backed governor and removing the elected government led by the PTI, the party of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan. Islamabad has blamed much of the violence in the province on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), saying its fighters operate from neighbouring Afghanistan and alleging Indian backing for militant networks. India has denied supporting the groups, and Afghanistan’s Taliban government has denied allowing militants to use its territory for attacks inside Pakistan. The ISPR statement did not identify the specific groups it was referring to and did not announce a new operation.
Why it matters
The language marks the military’s strongest public framing yet of domestic militancy as foreign-sponsored since emergency rule began — a signal that the campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is likely to intensify. It also sharpens the diplomatic pressure on both New Delhi and Kabul, days after the province came under direct federal control. For the people of the northwest, the pairing of the security pledge with a Rs160 billion development package is the clearest sign of the two-track strategy Islamabad intends to pursue.
What’s next
The test now is whether the rhetoric turns into announced operations. Watch for any named counterterrorism action in KP’s border districts in the coming days, for Afghanistan’s response to the latest allegations, and for how the promised development package is actually disbursed under governor’s rule — the three threads that will determine whether Friday’s visit was a turning point or a warning.
