ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif renewed on Wednesday military’s pledge to rid the country of terrorism.

“The whole nation is firmly standing alongside its armed forces to root out the menace of terrorism from the country and we will not stop short of accomplishing our mission, irrespective of the cost,” the army chief said after witnessing the culmination of war games by formations of Central Command at Tilla Ranges near Jhelum.

He said the army was fully prepared to deter and defeat any form of aggression across the entire spectrum of threat – implying both external and internal threats.

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The two-week long ‘offensive exercises’ involved the mechanised formations at the armoured division level.

Military spokesman Maj Gen Asim Bajwa described the exercises as a battle inoculation drill by Strike Corp’s Armoured Division.

The army chief witnessed the ‘break out battle’ of the mechanised elements of the armoured division. He spoke about the army’s commitment to war on terror at the otherwise conventional armoured division’s exercises because of military’s increasing involvement in the fight against terrorism.

Over 193,000 troops are involved in counter-terrorism operations in tribal areas along the western borders.

Gen Sharif appreciated the skills and motivation of the troops involved in the exercises and said: “Strenuous training and highest standard of preparedness in peacetime are the only guarantors of peace.”

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2015

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