Vice Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Kiyani, who is set to succeeded General Pervez Musharraf as next army chief, Friday vowed that there would be "no let-up" in Pakistan's efforts in the US-led "war on terror".
Former ISI chief General Ashfaq Kiyani is set to take over as head of the military by November 15 provided that the Supreme Court upholds Musharraf's sweeping victory in last Saturday's presidential election. Kiyani "reiterated that there would be no let-up in war against terrorism 'til it is taken to its logical conclusion," an army statement quoted him as saying on a visit to Peshawar.
"He gave specific directions to all commanders with regard to the ongoing operation in Waziristan agencies and exhorted them to spare no effort in eradicating the menace of extremism," it said. The army says fierce fighting between militants and troops in the tribal zone of North Waziristan earlier this week left around 200 militants and 47 troops dead.
Kiyani, the former chief of Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's premier spy agency in the hunt for al Qaeda militants, officially took over as vice chief of army staff on Monday. The military says he is Musharraf's "successor designate" as head of the army.
Musharraf, who seized power in a coup eight years ago on Friday, has vowed to step down from the army by the middle of next month in the next step in Pakistan's transition to full democracy. But he must await a court verdict on legal challenges to the weekend's vote, which was carried out by the national and provincial parliaments in spite of a boycott by the opposition.