RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Saturday said the resolution of Kashmir issue was imperative in order to establish sustainable peace in the region.
Addressing a passing-out parade held at Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, the army chief said that the Kashmir issue should be resolved in light of United Nations resolutions.
At least 20 people have lost their lives on both sides of the LoC and the working boundary in recent skirmishes between the Indian and Pakistani armies.
The Himalayan territory of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan by the UN-monitored de facto border of LoC but is claimed in full by both countries. Ceasefire violations along the LoC and working boundary between Pakistan and India have gone on intermittently during the past several days, with casualties reported on both sides.
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Speaking on the ongoing military operation in North Waziristan, General Raheel said the army’s objective was to eliminate terrorism from the country and that the network of terrorists had been effectively tackled in North Waziristan.
He said Operation Zarb-i-Azb was continuing successfully.
Zarb-i-Azb was launched by the Pakistan army on June 15 following a brazen militant attack on Karachi’s international airport and failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators.
The Taliban and their ethnic Uzbek allies both claimed responsibility for the attack on Karachi airport, which was seen as a strategic turning point in how Pakistan was tackling the insurgency.
Nearly a million people fled the offensive in the North Waziristan tribal region, aimed at wiping out longstanding militant strongholds in the area, which borders Afghanistan. Of recently, the action against militants has been extended to the Khyber tribal region.
