Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Sunday highlighted the “courage, resilience, and unyielding determination” of the armed forces and commended their “unwavering resilience and steadfastness in the face of terrorism”, a statement issued by the military’s media affairs wing said. Sixteen soldiers were martyred yesterday when terrorists attacked a checkpost in Makeen in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s South Waziristan district. Separately, the ISPR on Wednesday said that security forces killed 11 terrorists in three separate operations carried out across KP. Earlier this month, a total of 43 terrorists – 18 in KP and 25 in Balochistan – were killed by security forces during extensive operations conducted in the provinces since Dec 9, causing a “major setback” to the TTP and other terrorist groups operating in Balochistan. During his visit to Wana in South Waziristan today, the COAS received a comprehensive briefing on the prevailing security landscape and ongoing counter-terrorism operations, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In his interaction with the officers, COAS Munir “commended their unwavering resilience and steadfastness in the face of terrorism, reaffirming the nation’s pride in their sacrifices”, ISPR said. He emphasised that the martyrs were the pride of the country, and “their sacrifices will never be forgotten”, the press release said. The statement said that the security forces and the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) were steadfast in their determination to eliminate terrorism and extremism in all its forms, ensuring the restoration of lasting peace and stability across the country. COAS highlighted that the courage, resilience, and unyielding determination of armed forces were the “cornerstone of the nation’s sovereignty”, it said, adding that the army chief described the soldiers and LEAs as the true heroes of the nation, whose bravery and selfless dedication were an inspiration for the entire country. The army chief reaffirmed the commitment to pursuing Fitna Al Khwarij until they are eliminated along with their “facilitator, abettors and financier”, who, COAS Munir said, would “pay the price for their nefarious activities against the state”. After the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke a fragile ceasefire agreement with the government in 2022, the country witnessed a sharp uptick in the number of attacks targeting security forces and other law enforcement agencies, particularly in Balochistan and KP. According to the interior ministry, in the past 10 months, 948 out of 1,566 terrorism incidents reported occurred in KP, resulting in 583 deaths (out of a total of 924 martyrdom). In July, the government designated the TTP as Fitna al Khawarij, while mandating all institutions to use the term khariji (outcast) when referring to the perpetrators of terrorist attacks on Pakistan.