ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir on Tuesday said his country wishes for peace in the region, but any violations of its territory will be given a "firm and decisive response."
The development comes as Pakistan grapples with twin insurgencies: religiously motivated groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who operate mainly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and ethno-nationalist Baloch separatists fighting the state in the southwestern Balochistan.
Islamabad this month conducted airstrikes against what it said were TTP-affiliated militants in Afghanistan, sparking deadly clashes between the two border forces that killed dozens on both sides before Islamabad and Kabul reached a ceasefire at talks held in Doha, Qatar.
In recent months, Pakistan has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing the use of its soil and India of backing militant groups for waging attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied Islamabad's allegations.
"Indian-sponsored proxies, Fitna al Hindustan (Baloch separatists) and Fitna al Khawarij (TTP), propagate anti-people and anti-development agendas with malicious intent to perpetrate violence," Field Marshal Munir was quoted as saying by the Pakistani military's media wing, ISPR.
