Quetta visit: Army ready to counter aggression, says Gen Raheel

Urges service’s future leadership to remain abreast of latest developments.

ISLAMABAD:

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif vowed on Friday that the military could deter and defeat any external or internal act of aggression as he affirmed the preparedness of the country’s security forces.

He made these remarks during a visit to the Command and Staff College in Quetta, according to a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

“The Pakistan Army has the unique accomplishment of having been employed on various fronts against two different types of threat – conventional and sub-conventional – over the last decade… [It] is respected for its achievements and sacrifices the world over,” the ISPR quoted Gen Raheel as saying.

The army chief exhorted the need for future leadership to remain abreast of the latest global and regional developments, and focus on their professional grooming.

While elaborating his vision, he stressed that the army should carry its glorious legacy as a “national army suffused with an enhanced degree of professional ethos, pride and esprit de corps … which  continues  to  be  reflective  of  Pakistan’s aspirations  manifesting  the  collective  will  and  resilience  of  its proud citizens; a symbol of national unity and cohesion.”

Upon his arrival at Quetta, the army chief was received by Commander Southern Command, Lt Gen Naseer Khan Janjua.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 31^st, 2014.