PESHAWAR: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has given aclear and direct message to the anti state elements both within and outsidethe country.
He on Thursday said the armed forces would not allow’any anti-state agendain the garb of engineered protests to succeed.
According to a press release by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR),the army chief met notables of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and FederallyAdministered Tribal Areas (FATA) and hailed the courage and resilience ofthe areas’ residents, who have been victims of terrorism.
General Bajwa said that notwithstanding the genuine problems of thepeaceful citizens, the army’s main concern was to not allow anti-stateinthe garb of engineered protests etc, aimed at reversing the gains achievedat heavy cost in blood and national exchequer succeeds.
He stressed that the security of innocent citizens and defence ofmotherland comes first and foremost. The army chief reiterated thatlong-term dividend of peace is linked to earliest mainstreaming of FATA.
During the army chief’s interaction with Senators, MNAs, businessmen,lawyers, academia and others in Peshawar, General Bajwa shared his candidthoughts about the security environment, achievements in war againstterrorism, challenges and way forward.
The COAS said that lately the Pakistani nation successfully passed throughvery difficult times of fighting extremism and terrorism but much is stillleft to be done.
General Bajwa stated that the army fully supports socio-economicdevelopment in affected areas. He added that now is the time to unitedlykeep moving forward towards enduring peace and stability.