Militants will not be allowed to dictate terms: Gen Kayani

General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani

ISLAMABAD Pakistan’s chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on Friday rejected the notion that the peace deal through Sufi Mohammed amounted to giving any 'concession' to the militants, and declared that the army has the resolve to take on the militants. He said that 'victory against terror and militancy will be achieved at all cost'.Speaking at a meeting of top military commanders, at the General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, the army chief acknowledged that doubts were being voiced about the intent and capability of the army to defeat the militants. However, his view was that the army 'never has and never will hesitate to sacrifice, whatever it may take, to ensure safety and wellbeing of the people and country’s territorial integrity'.It was the most direct statement by General Kayani, or any other security or civilian official, about the prevailing situation and the manner in which it needs to be tackled. The statement came following a series of reports from Swat’s adjoining district Buner, and later Shangla, of the Taliban march in the area, with clear signs of the armed militants trying to spread their influence under the cover of the peace deal.Kayani condemned what he called 'pronouncements' by outside powers that raised doubts on the future of Pakistan, and declared that the militants will not be allowed to 'dictate terms to the government or impose their way of life on the civil society of Pakistan'.'A country of 170 million resilient people under a democratic dispensation, strongly supported by the army, is capable of handling any crisis that it may confront', he was quoted as saying in a press release issued by the ISPR.He described recent peace deal with Mullah Fazlullah’s Swat militants as an 'operational pause' that was meant to give the reconciliatory forces a chance, but declared that it 'must not be taken for a concession to the militants'.