Internal threat facing Pakistan far greater than external: Kayani

September 30th, 2009 LAHORE - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has said Islamabad would not allow US drones to carry out strikes in Balochistan. Kayani, who was attending the 28th Tripartite Commission, which consists of senior military representatives from Pakistan and Afghanistan, told the military leaders that Pakistan does not support the US view regarding the targeting of militants inside Pakistan's boundary.

September 24th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani has said the military is close to winning the war against terrorism. Addressing troops during his visit to South Wazirisitan and Tank, General Kayani said the strategy adopted by the army during its all out operation against the extremists in the region together with the people's support has helped security forces dismantle the terror network.

August 14th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani has said country's ongoing struggle against various terrorist groups was a fight against extremism and militancy, and that it was not against any particular religion, ethnicity or sub-nationalism. Speaking at the second annual Azadi Parade at Pakistan Military Academy in Kakul, General Kayani said militants would not be allowed to enforce their 'narrow and distorted' version of Islam in the country.

July 9th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhtar has said all necessary steps would be initiated by the government to enhance the combat capabilities of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF). Talking to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Rao Qamar Suleman, Mukhtar expressed hope that successful launch of the JF-17 Thunder aircraft manufacturing project would add to the PAF's power in the coming days.

July 8th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari met Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Chief of the Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani for the third time in less than a week here on Tuesday, fanning speculations that the troika is planning something significant. A statement issued by the Presidency after the meeting said that the leaders discussed internal and external threats facing the country, but analysts believe it is something else which has forced the trio to meet thrice in seven days.

July 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - After months of trying to persuade Islamabad to shift its focus from India, the US now says Pakistan has done "pretty well" in meeting the twin threats from India and the growing threat from insurgency. "They're actually doing pretty well," Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff told CBS channel?s "Face the Nation" programme Sunday when asked how Pakistan?s efforts against the Taliban had picked up at US behest over the last couple of months.

July 6th, 2009 LONDON - Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who has the backing of top military commanders for his goodwill gestures towards India, has said that the army is united in dealing with the threat emanating from militants and are no more worried about the Indian threat. In Pakistan civil leaders always operate in the shadow of the military, but Zardari appears to have backing of the army high command for some controversial stances, a report in The Telegraph states.

June 15th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has said that the military operation against the Taliban and other extremists in the Malakand and Swat region was launched to bring those people back on track who had deviated from their path due to certain circumstances. General Kayani said the operation has aptly been named 'Rah-e-Rast' which means the 'right track'.

May 17th, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Kayani, has said that the Army has a full range of counter-insurgency training facilities,and added and that it does not require any foreign training to tackle militancy. "Except for very specialised weapons and equipment, high technology, no generalised foreign training is required," The Nation quoted General Kayani, as saying.

May 8th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Kayani has said the Army would mobilise all available resources to launch a 'decisive operation' to crush and flush out the Taliban from North West Frontier Province (NWFP). "The Pakistan Army will employ requisite resources to ensure a decisive ascendancy over the Taliban," The Daily Times quoted General Kayani, as saying at the 118th corps commanders' conference held at the General Headquarters (GHQ).

May 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pakistan Army might have initiated an offensive against the Taliban with a primary objective of flushing the extremists out of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), but the Army itself is to be blamed for the current turbulent situation of not only Pakistan but also the whole region, a report in a leading US daily said A report in the Wall Street Journal, while blaming the Pakistan Army for the present tumultuous situation of Pakistan and also the whole region, said that until the military has a proper counterinsurgency strategy in place, success can not be guaranteed in the operation "The real power belonged to the military, whose ambivalence, duplicity and outright support for the militants over the past three decades have brought us to this pass," the report said. Even though Pakistan is facing a grim situation and also a probable threat to its existence internally, the country's army still considers arch rival India its number one enemy, the report said.

April 24th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, on Friday said the Army is determined to root out the menace of terrorism from the region. General Kayani further said the Army would fully support the civilian government in its fight against militancy.

April 24th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Worried by the increasing threat perception from the Taliban and questions being raised over the Army's capability and willingness to thwart the challenge, Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff (COAS), General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said that the military is fully prepared and committed to take on the challenge. Addressing an operational meeting at the General Headquarters here, General Kayani said he is aware of the doubts being raised over the intent of the security forces of the country, and clarified that his forces would not hesitate to retaliate.

April 23rd, 2009 LAHORE - The United States is finding convincing Pakistan that the internal threat posed by extremism is a bigger threat to it than India, a "tough sell". Delivering a lecture at the Harvard University, Central Command chief General David Petraeus said Islamabad must change its attitude towards New Delhi.

April 7th, 2009 RAWALPINDI - Pakistan's Chief of Army Staff General, Ashfaq Kayani, has said, the army is fully capable of meeting all "internal and external threats" facing the country. "The army is and will remain fully prepared to meet the current and emerging internal and external threats, with the full support of the nation," he said while addressing the 63rd Formation Commanders Conference at the army's General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi.