Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif said the the phenomenon of militant organisation Islamic State (IS) will not be allowed in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
General Raheel was speaking at a reception hosted by Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Jalil Abbas Jilani in honour of the visiting military delegation, and was attended by senior American officials from the State and Defence departments including US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Dan Feldman. He also categorically stated that the ongoing Zarb-i-Azb operation targets all militants without any discrimination and that it is aimed at defeating the menace of terrorism squarely. “I would like to openly say that this (operation) is against all hues and colors, and it is without any discrimination, whether it is Haqqani network or TTP or anything”, he said.
The army chief said the Zarb-i-Azb operation has been launched with great commitment and sincerity after consultations with the political government and backing of the entire nation, which is proud of the army's achievements in the fight against terror. Zarb-i-Azb, he said, is not just a military offensive but is a concept to defeat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. The anti-terror campaign is not restricted to Waziristan and Khyber tribal areas but covers the whole country, he said. The COAS saw close counter-terrorism cooperation in the months ahead between Pakistan and Afghanistan under the administration of new Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and was confident of progress towards establishing peace and stability in the region.
He also expressed satisfaction over his visit to the United States and said he had very good meetings with his counterparts on military-to-military relationship. In his remarks, Ambassador Jilani referred to Pakistan's determined fight against terror and improving Pakistan-Afghanistan relations at an important time for the region and said the developments require closer Pakistan-US cooperation. “On one hand, things are looking up, new challenges are also emerging which require good cooperation between our two countries”. The ambassador said defence relations are an important component of the wide-ranging Pakistan-US relationship. In a brief interaction with the media, US Special Representative Dan Feldman said that the Army chief had constructive and positive meetings during his visit.
Meanwhile, General Raheel discussed military relations and regional security issues including Afghanistan with US lawmakers belonging to Senate Foreign Relations, Intelligence and Armed Services committees from Pakistan's perspective. The Pakistani delegation underscored the need to have relations with India on the basis of dignity and respect. Pakistan's ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani accompanied the delegation to meetings at the Pentagon and the Capitol Hill.
