Pakistan army chief Raheel Sharif vows to eliminate terrorism at any cost

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's military will "root out menace of terrorism" from the country at any cost and is fully prepared to defeat any form of aggression, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif said today.

"The whole nation was firmly standing alongside its armed forces to root out menace of terrorism from across the country and we will not stop short of accomplishing our mission, irrespective of the cost," he said.

Gen Raheel was addressing troops after witnessing the culmination of large-scale manoeuvre exercises by formations of Central Command in near real environments at Tilla firing range near Jhelum, army said in a statement.

He said Pakistan "army is fully prepared to deter and defeat any form of aggression across the entire spectrum of threat".

He exhorted troops to fully focus on training and professional pursuits as strenuous training and the highest standard of preparedness in peacetime were the only guarantors of peace, according to the statement.