Islamabad, December 21, 2025: Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) and Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir has said that a majority of militants infiltrating into Pakistan under the banner of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are Afghan nationals, reiterating Islamabad’s longstanding concerns over the use of Afghan soil for terrorist activities.
Speaking at the National Ulema Conference held in Islamabad on December 10, the Field Marshal stated that around 70 per cent of fighters in TTP formations entering Pakistan were Afghans. Although full details of his address were not officially released at the time, excerpts of his speech were broadcast on television on Sunday. Referring to cross-border militancy, he questioned whether Afghanistan was “not spilling the blood of Pakistani children” and recalled that the Afghan Taliban had earlier been urged to choose between Pakistan and the TTP. Pakistan has repeatedly called on Kabul to prevent terrorists from using Afghan territory to launch attacks, an allegation consistently denied by the Afghan authorities.
Field Marshal Munir also touched upon regional security issues, including the four-day military confrontation with India in May. He said Pakistan’s armed forces received “divine help” during the retaliatory operation, codenamed Bunyanum Marsoos, launched after Indian strikes on May 7. The escalation marked one of the most serious flare-ups between the two nuclear-armed neighbours in decades and followed an attack on tourists in occupied Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22, which killed 26 people. While India blamed Pakistan without presenting evidence, Islamabad strongly rejected the allegations.
Addressing religious and ideological themes, the CDF noted that among the world’s 57 Islamic countries, Pakistan had been bestowed with the “honour of being the protectors of Haramain Sharifain.” He also drew historical parallels between Pakistan and the early Islamic state established in the Arabian Peninsula, saying both were founded in the month of Ramazan and involved the element of migration. Emphasising the state’s authority, Field Marshal Munir stressed that no individual or group could declare jihad independently, asserting that only an Islamic state had the mandate to do so. He also cited verses from the Holy Quran during his address to reinforce his message.
