Chief of Army staff General Raheel Sharif is all set to retire in a matter of days. He proved himself as man of his words and decided to retire from service instead of taking extension after completion of his tenure as the Army Chief. Who will be new COAS is the talk of the town, but putting aside this debate, one thing is certain the upcoming Chief will face a number challenges. We hope the new COAS would continue legacy of General Raheel Sharif and will deal with all the existing threats efficiently and conclude the war against terror successfully. Considering security situation of the country, it seems eradicating menace of terrorism and making Pakistan peaceful by eliminating all the internal and external threats would remain top most priority of the new Chief of Army Staff. Army has played a pivotal role in breaking nexus of land grabbers, extortionists, and militant wings of various political parties in Karachi. Security situation has improved significantly in Karachi and as General Raheel Sharif showed special interest in making financial hub and largest city of the country peaceful, the new Chief would have to do the same. We know that after operation Zarb-e-Azb security situation in the country has improved drastically, but it is also a harsh reality that intensity of terrorist activities has reduced but still terrorists have the power to target innocent people. Continued efforts would be required and civilian government also needs to step up to not let go gains of operations against terrorists. It has been reported that after successful operation against militants in northern areas of the country now terrorists are looking to strengthen themselves in Southern parts of Punjab. Combing operations are required to take stern action against abettors and facilitators of terrorists and urgency is required to not let the extremists gain strength in Southern Punjab. Situation on the Eastern border (India) and up to some extent on Western border (Afghanistan) will also be a huge challenge to the new Chief of Army Staff. In recent times, tensions between India and Pakistan have escalated to such a point that a number of civilians and soldiers have been martyred. Pakistan is also not enjoying the best of relations with the Western neighbor, Afghanistan; many terrorist activities took place in Pakistan were planned from across the border. Afghanistan and Pakistan also witnessed unpleasant incidents on the matter of construction of a gate on Torkham border. Special attention of new COAS would be required to look after the aggressive steps on Eastern and Western border.
It is also considered that after surprise victory of Donald Trump in US elections, US policy may change for the region of sub-continent and Afghanistan. At a time when we are fighting against monster of terror, we also need to keep a sharp eye on the developments that may affect our national interests in the region. General Raheel Sharif has reiterated quite often that completion of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one of the top most priorities of the country and army would make sure no foreign conspiracy could halt progress of the mega project.
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