It is imperative to eradicate the spread of fake rumours, lies, hatred and social division in the guise of freedom of expression from the society.

It is the need of the hour to identify those who spread fake news for political and financial gains. Any attempt to pit innocent citizens against each other for personal gain and to use violence as a weapon will never be tolerated. These views were expressed in the declaration of the 84th two-day Formation Commanders Conference held under the chairmanship of Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir.

These words of the declaration are a clear indication of the unskilled, free and negative use of social media, the importance of which cannot be denied. Yes, experts say that social media has key importance but its negative needs to be tackled.  The conference urged the government to enact and implement effective legislation to uproot the seeds of incitement, lies, and social division. In the context of external and internal threats facing the country, the conference participants were briefed on the current overall situation, the most important aspect of which is social media, on which every individual and public have the good and bad aspects of freedom of expression. 

The conference expressed its determination to continue supporting the government’s efforts to promote the country’s economic development, crackdown on illegal activities and eliminate the nexus of terrorism and crime. The conference focused on operations against terrorists active in Balochistan, including the BLA Majeed Brigade, and resolved to neutralize those working on behalf of enemy forces to destabilize Pakistan, as well as their facilitators and encouragers.  Concern was expressed over the unbridled use of Afghan soil by terrorists against Pakistan and emphasized that Afghanistan should prevent its soil from being used against Pakistan and that it is in the interest of both brotherly Islamic countries to focus on mutually beneficial relations.  The conference participants expressed their determination to continue supporting the efforts made for social and economic development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. 

They condemned the ongoing human rights violations in occupied Jammu and Kashmir by India and reiterated Pakistan’s unwavering political, diplomatic and moral support for the Kashmiri people and the Palestinian people. The agenda of the Formation Commanders Conference is multifaceted, including expressing solidarity with the Palestinians and strongly condemning the ongoing atrocities in Gaza.  However, it is an inevitable requirement of the situation to confront the nefarious efforts being made by some groups to create chaos and unrest in the country. Undoubtedly, social media is an effective means of promoting healthy activities and freedom of positive expression, however, its use in promoting society and its healthy values ??should be done with ethics and at the collective and individual levels.  A few days ago, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif established a ten-member task force to identify those involved in the nefarious propaganda against state institutions that has been going on for the past few months.

However, its canvas should be broader, and the negative changes and behaviors that are being seen in Pakistani society, it is necessary to discourage intolerance, provocation, and politics of gossip at both the individual and collective levels, while the establishment of an ideal society free from evils can have equally good effects on social media. Meanwhile, our security forces are determined to eliminate terrorism from the country and the sacrifices made by brave officers and soldiers are working, under which the search operation is successfully moving towards its logical conclusion.  Three different operations were conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on the intervening night of December 6 and 7, in which 22 terrorists were killed and 6 were injured. According to the ISPR, 9 terrorists were killed and 6 injured in an operation conducted on intelligence in Gul Imam area of ??Tank district. The second operation was carried out in North Waziristan in which 10  militants were killed while 3 terrorists were killed in the third military operation, while 6 soldiers were martyred while fighting bravely.  President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, while paying tribute to the security forces for the killing of 22 terrorists, has reiterated the resolve that the war against terrorists will continue until the country is cleansed of terrorism, and the security forces will find the nation by their side at every step of this journey. 

The evidence collected about the terrorists who have been killed or arrested so far in this war on terrorism since 2021 indicates the facilitation of the Afghan government in these incidents, whose land has become a paradise for terrorists. The terrorists who survived the search operations and exchanges of fire consider it a safe haven. The Afghan government has been informed about this by Pakistan several times, but it has not paid any heed. The aforementioned successes of the security forces provide a guarantee of helping in the establishment of a terrorism-free and peaceful society, while the cooperation of the Afghan government can prove to be an additional step in the closeness of the two brotherly countries. After the withdrawal of the American army from Afghanistan, the two countries had the opportunity to increase the traditional relations, in the comprehensive negotiations held in Doha, the capital of Qatar, the agreement to not allow their territory to be used against each other was implemented.

After that, the Afghans Taliban government has not been able to prove the friendship and brotherhood of the past. Instead of expelling the outlawed TTP from its territory as per the agreement, it has not taken any notice of its terrorist attacks on Pakistan, which has tension has arisen between the two ountries. Relations of friendship and brotherhood were hit. Most of the trade worth billions of rupees turned into smuggling and their economies suffered losses. On the other hand, the Taliban are saying that the Doha agreement is related to the United States and Afghanistan, the rest of the countries have nothing to do with it, and that the current terrorist attacks in Pakistan are an internal matter of Pakistan. This position of the Afghan government is actually a cover-up of the facts.  According to the Doha agreement, the territory of Afghanistan should not be used for terrorism in any country. The Afghan government is encouraging terrorism in the region by providing safe havens to terrorist elements and increasing the supply of modern weapons.  The continuation of the wave of terrorism in Pakistan is connected with the arrival of the Taliban government in Afghanistan and the Afghan policy of Imran Khan.