Army won’t leave until peace is restored, says Gen Raheel

Army chief spends Eidul Azha with troops in Bajaur

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif visited the Bajaur Agency and offered Eid prayers with Army and FC troops, an ISPR press release said.

The COAS, the ISPR stated, also reviewed the ongoing stablisation operations, rehabilitation/reconstruction efforts and measures to enforce border management along Pakistan-Afghanistan border in the agency.

Commending the soldiers for rendering countless sacrifices, he appreciated their high state of morale regardless of remoteness of the area and celebrating the Eid away from their families.

According to the ISPR statement, tribal elders also joined the Army Chief in offering Eid prayers and spent time with him.

While talking with tribal elders, the COAS praised their sacrifices in the cause of eliminating terrorists and restoring peace in the area. He urged them to continue supporting the security forces for keeping the writ of the state which “is now helping us bring about development and prosperity in the Agency”.

The COAS reiterated the nation’s resolve and said that the armed forces would not leave the area without completing the job of bringing peace, completing rehabilitation and transferring administrative control to an institutionalised mechanism.

Later, tribal elders thanked Pakistan Army and the COAS for eliminating terrorists and assured him that
they would continue to support the security forces for keeping peace in the agency and would never allow terrorists to return to their areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2016.