Success against militants could end militancy in Pakistan: Pak Army chief

Pakistan Army chief General Raheel Sharif on Thursday said achievements in the operations against militants have created an environment to find a meaningful and sustainable closure of military efforts to end militancy in the country.

Addressing the officers at Command and Staff College, Quetta, he said that "only a secure Pakistan can be a prosperous Pakistan". "Our fight against terrorism and extremism is not for today only but for our future generations," Raheel was quoted as saying by an army statement.

He said noteworthy achievements in the military operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' against militants had created a space for a decisive surge against terrorists in urban areas and environment was getting ripe for political optimization towards a meaningful and sustainable closure of military efforts to end militancy.

Raheel said that wars are not fought by armies alone and rather it required efforts by the entire nations to succeed. He said that Pakistan's security threats were "complex, multi-dimensional and hybrid in character" and traditional response mechanisms were not relevant anymore to deal with these threats.

"Modern means of technology need to be adopted to fight the war against terrorism," he added. Pakistan's army launched an operation named 'Zarb-e-Azb' in June last year to clear the restive North Waziristan region of Taliban militants and has since claimed significant success. The military operations were intensified after a series of brazen attacks on civilian targets, including a school in Peshawar where more than 150 people -- mostly children -- were killed. 

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