22 October 2004	Friday	07 Ramazan 1425

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ISLAMABAD, Oct 21: President Gen Pervez Musharraf has said that Pakistan will not be deterred by sporadic terrorist activities aimed at tarnishing the image of the country and sabotaging internal peace.

Presiding over a Corps Commanders Conference at the General Headquarters here on Thursday, the president expressed his firm resolve to counter subversive actions by foreign miscreants and their local facilitators.

Vice Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ahsan Saleem Hayat, the nine corps commanders and the principal staff officers attended the meeting during which the president briefed the participants on his recent visit to the United States with special reference to his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

According to a statement issued by the ISPR, Gen Musharraf dwelt on the ongoing peace process with India and expressed the hope that the peace process would be purposeful and resolve the long-standing dispute of Kashmir.

President Musharraf said the unfortunate incident of kidnapping of two Chinese engineers would not affect Pakistan-China relations and the ulterior motive of disrupting the ongoing development projects would be foiled.

The statement said that professional issues and matters related to operational preparedness were discussed during the meeting.

Gen Musharraf gave an overview of the regional and domestic environment and the prevailing security situation in the country.

He commended the performance of security forces combating terrorism under challenging environments in tribal areas with exemplary courage and devotion.

Gen Musharraf paid rich tribute to officers and men who laid down their lives for a larger national cause.

The president also appreciated the role of other law-enforcement and intelligence agencies which successfully nabbed some of the leading terrorists and broke their network.

President Musharraf expressed his firm resolve to curb foreign miscreants and their local facilitators and said that Pakistan would not allow terrorists to keep the society hostage to their malicious agenda.

He said that Pakistan was a responsible country and would continue to play its rightful role in eradicating the menace of global terrorism.

Talking about the recently-held defence exhibition and seminar in Karachi, 'IDEAS-2004,' Gen Musharraf praised the untiring efforts of the organizers. He said IDEAS-2004 had enhanced the country's image at international level.

On the role of Pakistan Army in nation-building, President Musharraf lauded the efforts of army engineers who had voluntary undertaken the task of repairing the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) in Sindh which had been badly damaged due to rains. He directed that the task should be completed on a priority basis to provide relief to the affected areas in the province.

A briefing about the progress of the new GHQ Complex was given at the meeting. While highlighting the importance of keeping all services headquarters at one place, the president said that the co-location would not only ensure an efficient working environment but also facilitate the evolving of synergised responses in the quickest possible time crucial in modern warfare.