Pakistan army calls Taliban India's 'proxy', claims lead in operational readiness

Pakistan's army has described the Afghan Taliban as India's 'proxy'. At the same time, it has claimed that Pakistan is far ahead of both the Afghan Taliban and India in operational readiness.

Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, director general of Pakistan's Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), made the remarks. In a long interview given to Reuters last Friday, he addressed the ongoing tension between Islamabad and Kabul, and Dawn Online brought parts of that interview to light on Sunday.

Asked whether Islamabad was concerned about the Afghan Taliban's use of drones, Sharif Chaudhry said it would be an extremely narrow view to think he would be worried because Afghanistan was using drones.

He said the Afghan Taliban have no military capability of their own and that whatever they have was given by sponsors. In the same remarks, he accused India of being the biggest sponsor of terrorism.

Lieutenant General Chaudhry recalled that during the conflict with India in May 2025, Pakistan shot down a dozen highly sophisticated drones sent across the eastern border.

He said that wherever those drones came from, Pakistan had reduced them to dust, and that the episode was nearly two years old. In his words, Pakistan is far ahead in operational readiness.

The ISPR chief said the Pakistan army is preparing itself in a professional and deliberate way in step with the changing nature of warfare, and is adopting emerging technologies.

He said that whether in non-contact, technology-based warfare or direct conventional combat — in the cyber field, drone technology or long-range operations — the army is conscious of the capabilities needed for the present and the future.

In the same interview, he said the spread of such non-contact warfare equipment into the hands of non-state groups such as the Taliban, the Khawarij or the Houthis has become a major threat for everyone.

Asked whether Pakistan had used artificial intelligence to identify targets in Afghanistan, Lieutenant General Chaudhry said he could not discuss in detail how the military uses AI, quantum technology, cyber technology and other technologies, but that using them is possible and should be done.

He claimed that Pakistan is a technology-conscious army.