Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said on Friday that several tribal chiefs in Balochistan were directly involved in the incidents of terrorism as they wanted a share in the Rs1,000-billion budget, while issuing threats if their demands were not met.
Addressing a press briefing in Islamabad, the military spokesperson said the main challenge in Balochistan lays with the province's tribal Sardars (chiefs) and elite. He said some tribal chiefs threatened to stoke terrorism if they were denied a share in the development budget worth Rs1 trillion.
He said some of the elite and Sardars (tribal leaders) in Balochistan did not want children from poor families to progress. "We will not talk to you; we will talk to the people of Balochistan," he added.
The DG ISPR said that deliberate attempts were being made to create a perception that the situation in Balochistan was deteriorating.
He said some tribal chiefs in Balochistan treated the Levies force as their private militia and were involved in smuggling under the guise of legitimate business. “They want the Levies personnel as security guards protecting their houses while they themselves pocketing their salaries,” he added.
He claimed that certain tribal chiefs were engaged in the smuggling of narcotics and diesel while presenting these activities as commercial ventures. He further stated that they sought official permits to facilitate their illegal businesses.
He also said India and Afghanistan shared a common agenda and the Afghan Taliban regime was supporting militant groups operating against Pakistan. He added that certain elements were attempting to destabilize Balochistan and that security forces had intensified operations against militant groups in response.
He said that more than 300 bogus websites in India are campaigning against Balochistan, adding that the lords of Fitna al-Kharij and Fitna al-Hindustan are Indians.
The DG ISPR said that Balochistan's per capita income stood at Rs70,000, compared with Rs45,000 in Punjab. He added that Pakistan remained the people’s foremost national identity and stressed that the people of Balochistan were the province's genuine stakeholders.
Referring to the issue of missing persons, he said propaganda surrounding enforced disappearances had been exposed; if the list of missing persons were compared with the membership list of the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), the two would be the same.
Speaking of the “perception that the situation in Balochistan has worsened”, he said this matter would be discerned by answering three questions.
The first question was what the issue was, the second was what was happening and the third was what was being done, he said. Coming to the first question, he said the issue was not just specific to Balochistan but covered the overall security environment in Pakistan.
The issue, he said, was “Hard state, question mark”. “Are we a hard state? Unfortunately, not,” he remarked.
Explaining the reason behind his answer, he said a hard state was one where the constitution and law were the same for everyone. “That is what a hard state is. It does not mean a military-run state, it does not mean an armed forces-dominated state,” he added.
The DG ISPR said a state where all matters were decided in accordance with law and the constitution, where everyone was equal, was a hard state. And in that hard state, there would be security and stability; there would be no grievances.
He also claimed that Afghan nationals were involved in many bombing incidents in Pakistan. Referring to recent attacks, he said Afghan nationals had been involved in the incidents that occurred in Tank and Karachi.
The DG ISPR ruled out any talks with the terrorists, warning them to lay down their weapons or the security forces will send them to hell.
The DG ISPR said there was no longer any scope for negotiations with militants, declaring that they must either surrender their weapons or the military will finish them.
He said attempts were being made to deliberately create the impression that the security situation in Balochistan was deteriorating. He rejected that narrative and stressed the importance of strengthening state institutions and maintaining public confidence.
He said a strong state was one in which all affairs were conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the law. He added that politics could function only when the state remained secure, saying the existence of the state was essential for both political stability and the protection of people's lives.
The ISPR chief said that security forces had carried out 40,348 counter-terrorism operations across Pakistan so far this year, during which 2,084 militants were killed.
He further stated that 28 bomb explosions had been recorded across the country during 2026. According to the figures presented at the briefing, 31,080 counter-terrorism operations were conducted in Balochistan and 7,177 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while 2,091 operations were carried out in the rest of Pakistan.
Reporter Ahmad Mansoor