Daily Times

RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Bajwa has said that mainstreaming of the Federally Administered Tribal Agencies (FATA) is essential for enduring peace and stability in the region.

“Our focus now is to transform our operational achievements in FATA into enduring peace and stability for which early mainstreaming of FATA through reforms is essential,” the army chief was quoted as saying by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) on Wednesday. “Pakistan Army fully supports all efforts towards that end.”

Meanwhile, the COAS visited Peshawar Corps Headquarters, where he was given a detailed briefing on situation along the Pak-Afghan border, ongoing and future operations, progress on development works and return of temporarily displaced persons (TDPs).

The COAS expressed satisfaction over operational preparedness of the formations, and asked them to stay vigilant against all types of threats.

Regarding the country’s relations with Afghanistan, he said, “We consider Afghanistan as a brotherly neighbour. Terrorists are our common enemy. The threat requires a trust-based coordinated response rather than blame game or unwarranted skirmishes.”

Gen Qamar also commented on Tuesday’s drone strike that allegedly killed a senior militant commander in the country’s north.

“The COAS said unilateral actions like drone strikes are counterproductive and against spirit of ongoing cooperation and intelligence sharing being diligently undertaken by Pakistan,” the ISPR said. “The Pakistan Army is capable of taking effective measure if actionable intelligence is shared.”

A senior commander of a militant group was killed in the strike in the area on the confluence of borders between Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkha (KP) and Orakzai and North Waziristan tribal regions.

Earlier, on his arrival at Corps Headquarters, the COAS was received by Peshawar Corps Commander Lieutenant General Nazir Ahmad Butt.