ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has condemned the recent spate of terrorist attacks on civilians and said that such acts of cowardice and frustration cannot frighten the people.

Gen Kayani, who was presiding over a conference of Corps Commanders at the General Headquarters on Wednesday, said militants were attacking innocent people out of frustration because they were incapable of confronting the military operation.

He said he was confident that the terrorist attacks would strengthen the nation’s resolve to eliminate the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestation.

He paid tribute to the officers and soldiers who had laid down their lives in the fight against terrorism.

Matters of operational preparedness and professional significance were discussed at the conference and the participants expressed satisfaction over the state of preparedness of the army and successful conduct of the Rah-i-Nijat operation.

A security official declined to comment when asked if the conference discussed a recent article by American journalists Seymour Hersh claiming that there was an informal understanding between US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen and Gen Kayani to allow specially trained US forces to help Pakistan secure its nuclear arsenal in the event of a crisis.

The official, however, said there was no such understanding and Pakistan Army was capable of defending its nuclear assets.

He pointed out that the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee’s Chairman Gen Tariq Majid, who was the overall custodian of the nuclear assets, had already made a comprehensive statement ruling out any possibility of providing any foreign individual, entity or state access to the nuclear arsenal.

When asked to comment on a statement by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Pakistan realised the need to go beyond South Waziristan, he said the successful operation had taken the security forces to a phase where they were consolidating their gains.

‘When we regain balance it starts radiating vibes around and the possibility of new options starts opening up, more than just a military operation’.