Islamabad - Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said hostile agencies from abroad are trying to destabilise the country.

"They [hostile agencies] fear the army being a hurdle to achieving their nefarious designs," Gen Bajwa said during his  visit to the family of Lt Arsalan Alam, the 22-year-old martyr.

According to ISPR, the COAS said the armed forces would continue to perform in the country's best interests and stand by the nation against all challenges.

"Pakistan's enemy is our enemy. Use of force is the prerogative of the state alone," he said.

The army chief vowed to restore peace and rule of law "whatever sacrifices it may cost."

During his visit to Lt Alam's family home in Murree, the army chief paid tribute to the soldier and offered fateha, the ISPR said.

He also interacted with his family and said that the army and nation are proud of their martyrs.

“No power can harm us... [as long as] we have such valiant sons of the soil and their brave parents in Pakistan," he added.

Lt Arsalan embraced martyrdom after a cross-border attack on a checkpost near the Rajgal Valley border.

The army recently concluded Operation Khyber IV in the Rajgal valley and declared that the area was cleared off terrorists. However,  ISPR DG Maj Asif Ghafoor said during a press conference earlier this year that the army cannot carry out operations against terror elements present on Afghan soil.

The latest cross-border attack near the Afghan border comes as Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi told the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) that Pakistan refused to be a “scapegoat” for Afghanistan's bloodshed or to fight wars for others.

Pakistan also maintains that Indian intelligence agencies have used Afghan soil to foment unrest and carry out subversive activities in various parts of the country.

Staff Reporter/Monitoring