ISLAMABAD - Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif yesterday reaffirmed Pakistan’s strong determination to counter global phenomenon of terrorism and extremism.

Addressing the participants at Command and Staff College during his daylong visit to Quetta, General Raheel said no other military of the world had been able to synergise effects as much as Pakistan Army could do single-handedly.

“I am proud of commanding a dynamic and resolute force, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt-Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa said in his tweet while quoting the army chief as saying.

Throwing light on the effects of Zarb-e-Azb, Gen Raheel Sharif explained how the military had transited from hard-core kinetic operations to intelligence-based ones and now combing operations.

Highlighting his vision of conclusion of operations for peace and stability in the country, he said: “We are not there yet and have more work to do to achieve our final objective of a fully peaceful and prosperous Pakistan.” The army chief was also scheduled to visit headquarters of the military’s Southern Command and review operational and security matters during his stay in Quetta. Later, at a briefing at the Southern Command Headquarters in Quetta, General Raheel Sharif vowed to defeat the designs of Pakistan’s hostile elements and expel them out of the country.

“Together we will defeat nefarious designs of hurting Pakistan and root out hostile elements out of our country,” the ISPR DG quoted General Raheel as saying. He said the army chief applauded efforts of law-enforcement intelligences agencies for unearthing foreign intelligence network.

On Wednesday General Raheel met the wounded soldiers who lost their eyesight due to IED blasts during the continuing operation, Zarb-e-Azb. During his visit to the Armed Forces Institute of Ophthalmology (AFIO), General Raheel paid tribute to their sacrifice and valour, saying,“We will never give up and never quit.”

To date, as many as 179 soldiers have lost their complete or partial eyesight due to IED blasts,” said an ISPR statement.

In a related development, Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told media persons that a nexus of Afghan and Indian intelligence was busted by the law-enforcement agencies.

Bugti said six terrorists planted by Afghan intelligence, National Directorate of Security (NDS), and Indian intelligence Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), were involved in carrying out acts of terrorism in Pakistan, killed more than 40 people.