If there is one lesson from yesterday’s briefing by Director General ISPR, Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, it is this: Pakistan is no longer living in the gray area. For over two decades, this country has fought a war imposed on it, sometimes struggling under a haze of confused narratives, political opportunism, and dangerous half-measures. But listening to the General speak this afternoon, it became undeniable that 2025 has drawn a permanent line in the sand. Under the vision of Field Marshal Asim Munir, there is now an absolute, unshakeable “singularity of purpose”: to fight the enemies of the state, both internal and external, with kinetic force and moral clarity.
General Chaudhry described 2025 as a “landmark and consequential year,” and looking at the cold facts, it is impossible to disagree. Pakistan is not just reacting; it is finally winning. In a year where law enforcement and security forces conducted a staggering 75,175 intelligence-based operations—that is an average of 206 raids every single day—we are taking the fight directly to the dens of the Khawarij and the Indian proxies destabilizing Balochistan. The results aren’t just statistics on a spreadsheet; they are written in the restored safety of our streets. When our agencies stop a 2,000kg suicide bomb from tearing apart Karachi, as they did just this Sunday, that isn’t luck. That is the relentless grind of a state fighting back.
The most striking part of the briefing was the brutal honesty regarding Afghanistan. For years, there has been diplomatic hesitation, a hope that the “de facto” rulers in Kabul would eventually see reason. That hope is gone. The military spokesman laid bare the harsh truth: Afghanistan has become the mothership of terrorism in the region. Since 2021, when the world was sold a “fake narrative” of Taliban victory, Afghan soil has become a launchpad for every terror outfit imaginable, fueled by a war economy that survives on chaos.
General Chaudhry’s words on the border closure were sharp but necessary. Why reopen a border that bleeds terrorism into our cities? Pakistan has done its part—holding 225 flag meetings and writing 836 protest letters. When diplomacy is met with attacks on our border posts, force becomes the only language left. The kinetic actions of October 2025 were a “hard message”: we target Pakistani terrorists on your soil to protect our own citizens, period. And as the DG rightly pointed out, the biggest beneficiary of this chaos is India, fueling these groups with money and patronage. But the clarity of 2025 proves that game is up. We know who the “Khawarij” are, and we know exactly who signs their checks in New Delhi.
But perhaps the most courageous aspect of today’s briefing was holding the mirror to our own political class. Terrorism does not grow in a vacuum; it requires political oxygen. General Chaudhry highlighted the grim irony of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: while terrorism drops in Balochistan thanks to serious coordination between the Army and the provincial government, it flourishes in KP due to a toxic “political-terror nexus.”
It is painful but necessary to hear a military spokesman ask why a certain political party is never targeted by terrorists, or why it advocates “begging Kabul” for talks instead of fighting for Pakistan’s sovereignty. The message is clear: no politician is above the state. When you hand over your areas to terrorists for votes, or champion appeasement over national security, you aren’t a leader—you are part of the problem. Contrast that with Balochistan, where politicians chose to work with the Army, ended the confusing “B-Areas,” and delivered tangible development. That is the National Action Plan in action.
We have entered 2026 with momentum. The terrorist kill ratio has flipped in our favor. The repatriation of undocumented Afghans is clearing out facilitator networks. The new National Intelligence Fusion Centre is stopping plots before they start. General Chaudhry ended with a quote that should be etched into our national policy: “There is only one type of good terrorist: a dead terrorist.” The days of “good vs bad” militants are buried. Under the leadership of the Field Marshal and with the immense sacrifices of our jawans—over 1,200 of whom were martyred last year—Pakistan has found its spine again.
As General stated, a soldier thinks in “black and white.” In the war for survival, there is no gray. You are either with the state of Pakistan, or you are with the Khawarij. It is time for everyone, politicians, judges, and citizens, to choose their side.
Field Marshal reviews Advanced Training, Combat Readiness during Lahore Garrison Visit: ISPR
