LONDON: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Friday stressed for better relations with India and urged that negotiations between the two countries over Kashmir must be made on an equal basis.

Director-General Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asim Bajwa, tweeted that the COAS spoke at the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.

During his address, General Raheel Sharif said that resolving the Kashmir dispute was a must for long term peace to be established in South Asia.

The army chief said that Pakistan was now focusing on the war against terrorism and aimed to uproot militancy from the country.

He said that implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) is underway in Pakistan and that the country would soon defeat terrorism successfully.

The COAS further stated that Operation Zarb-i-Azb was making good progress and that all terrorists were being targeted. He clarified that Pakistan was not making any distinction among the terrorists.

He also urged the international community to understand Pakistan’s security environment.

Zarb-i-Azb was launched by the Pakistan Army on June 15 following a brazen militant attack on Karachi's international airport and failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators.

Nearly a million people fled the North Waziristan offensive, aimed at wiping out longstanding militant strongholds in the area, which borders Afghanistan.