Terrorists, their abettors in urban areas be nabbed: COAS

RAWALPINDI: The Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Raheel Sharif, on Friday called upon apprehending terrorists and their abettors from the urban areas of the country.
He expressed these views while chairing the 181st Corps Commanders Conference held at the General Headquarters. The conference deliberated at length on the gravity of the situation in Yemen and stressed that continuation of the conflict would have serious implications for regional security.
The participants of the meeting dwelt on professional matters, operational preparedness of the army and internal and external security situation of the country, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
Addressing the forum, General Raheel Sharif expressed his complete satisfaction with the major gains recently achieved in the ongoing Operation Zarb-e-Azb in Khyber Agency.He directed the commanders to maintain focus on achieving the end objective of total elimination of terrorism from across the country by coordinating with law enforcement and other government agencies.
“Intelligence based operations must be further intensified to unearth terrorist sleeper cells and apprehend the hiding terrorists and their abettors from urban centers as well,” COAS said.
Appreciating the effects of intelligence based operations and the improving security situation, the COAS emphasised the need to concentrate on combating extremism from the society by re-energising the National Action Plan (NAP) in true letter and spirit and achieving discernible results.
General Raheel also expressed his satisfaction with the initiation of dignified return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to Fata, which was reflective of a successful Zarb-e-Azb strategy.
He directed all the concerned to make the return smooth and enduring. “The eventual purpose of the operations is to ensure stability leading to normalcy and prosperity in accordance with the aspirations of the people of Fata,” the COAS remarked.