ISLAMABAD: The army’s top brass resolved on Wednesday to continue the fight against militants till the “elimination of terrorists”.

The corps commanders meeting, which is a monthly feature, this time took place ahead of army chief General Raheel’s Sharif’s visit to the United States this weekend. The meeting provided him with an opportunity to get input from his commanders about his agenda for Washington.

The army chief had a day earlier visited the headquarters of the Inter Services Intelligence for consultation -- a visit described by military spokesman Maj Gen Asim Bajwa as conveying the message of the army’s zero tolerance for all forms of terrorism.

Gen Sharif has been making right noises ahead of his trip to the US, where he will seek to rebuild military-to-military relationship. This will be the first trip by a Pakistani army chief to the US since the events of 2011 and 12 that damaged the relationship, which once anchored the bilateral ties.

The corps commanders, who were given a briefing on the Zarb-i-Azb and Khyber operations against militants, pledged not to let terrorists to regroup and return to the cleared areas. “Neither will they (terrorists) be allowed any space across the country,” a statement on the meeting said.

The army has conducted hundreds of intelligence-led operations throughout the country in which dozens of terrorists have been arrested. More importantly, the crackdowns have helped in preventing the blowback of the Zarb-i-Azb operation to a great extent.

Gen Sharif’s counter-terrorism actions, particularly the operation in North Waziristan, have earned him appreciation in the US.

The US has been praising Pakistan Army’s commitment to eliminate terrorists of all shades, but at the same time has continued to be sceptical if that is ever happening and groups like Haqqani Network are being targeted.

As always, the Americans want Pakistani security agencies to do more.

During his stay in the US, Gen Sharif will try to use the newly generated goodwill for pushing the case for better military to military ties.

Former ambassador to the US Dr Maleeha Lodhi said: “The visit by the army chief takes place at a pivotal time for the region. With critical transitions ahead in Afghanistan and Middle East in turmoil, the visit will provide an opportunity to both sides to identify areas of overlapping interests and strengthen defence ties accordingly.”

Gen Sharif’s counterpart, she said, would obviously be interested in hearing how Pakistan saw its role in the post-2014 stabilisation of Afghanistan.

She said she expected the army chief to also apprise the American interlocutors of security concerns on eastern borders with India.

Former ambassador Munawar Bhatti underscored the importance of improving ties with Washington because it impacted the country’s other relationships and the US would remain a major player in the region for years to come.

He said the trip would provide an opportunity to Gen Sharif to clarify misconceptions and explain Pakistan’s position on different issues.

Published in Dawn, November 13th , 2014