QUETTA: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has said that successes achieved in the Zarb-i-Azb operation have created space for a “decisive surge” against terrorists in urban areas of the country.

The environment is “getting ripe... for a meaningful and sustainable” solution to the problem, according to the army chief.

Speaking on Thursday to officers of the Command and Staff College, Quetta, Gen Sharif said a war was not fought by army alone. “Rather, it requires the efforts of the entire nation.”

The country’s armed forces, he said, were fighting the terrorists because they wanted to make the country secure not just for the people today but also for the future generations.

“Our security threats are complex, multidimensional and hybrid in character,” he said. The traditional response mechanisms were therefore no longer relevant.

“Only a safe and stable Pakistan can become a prosperous Pakistan,” the army chief said.

Commander of the Southern Command Lt Gen Muhammad Naseer Khan Janjua, Commandant of the Staff College Maj Gen Aamir Abbas and other senior army officers were present on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2015

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