On his first visit to field formations after taking over command of Pakistan Army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa visited Corps Headquarters Peshawar and North Waziristan Agency on Tuesday, military’s media wing said.

According to a statement issued by Inter-Services Public Relations, the army chief was given detailed briefing about the prevailing security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Malakand Division.

"We will continue to move ahead of the gains already made so far," the army chief said. He also paid tribute to brave tribes, officers and men of army, FC, levies and police, and vowed that "no terrorists of any hue will ever be allowed to come back".

"Defence and security of Pakistan against external and internal threat will remain my ultimate objective as military chief," Gen Bajwa was quoted as saying.

He also stressed the need for expediting pace of new raising of FC wings to enhance an effective Pak-Afghan border management.

During his visit to North Waziristan, the army chief was briefed by local formation commander on security situation in the Agency, resettlement phase of IDPs and inspected reconstruction work on ground.

"The war against terrorism will continue with focused approach and it will be taken to its logical conclusion till total elimination of terrorism from our soil," said Gen Bajwa.

Know more: Gen Bajwa to define direction of operations’ new phase

Gen Bajwa has taken over the command of the army at a time when the troops are consolidating the gains made during the operations. He would, therefore, be defining the direction of the new phase, which may be distinctly different from the previous stage that saw kinetic operations.

The transition has further taken place under the shadows of dangerous escalation at the Line of Control (LoC), where 53 people, both civilians and troops, have been killed over the past couple of months.