Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir on Friday said the Pakistan Army, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) and the nation could never be coerced by the “cowardly tactics of terrorists”, according to a press release from the military’s media wing.

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) press release said the army chief made the remarks while interacting with officers and troops during a visit to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district.

Calling out terrorists hampering peace in the country, the COAS said such elements “have a misbelief that they can challenge the iron resolve of the soldiers and writ of the state”.

“We have fought for long and will continue to fight the menace of terrorism till the end. The nation pays rich tribute to those who have laid their lives and their sacrifices will forever be honoured,” the ISPR quoted him as saying.

A day ago, nine soldiers were martyred while five others were injured in a suicide attack at a military convoy in Bannu’s general area of Janikhel.

Their funeral prayers were offered today with senior serving military and civil administrative officers and troops in attendance. The ISPR said they would be buried with full military honour in their respective hometowns.

The COAS was briefed on the ongoing operations and overall security situation in the area and also visited the Combined Military Hospital Bannu to enquire about the health and well-being of the injured soldiers.

Appreciating the “high morale and unflinching resolve” of the troops, the army chief said the military would continue to act as a “bulwark against terrorism to safeguard the nation from this scourge”.

Separately, the ISPR said a soldier was martyred as troops killed a terrorist in Khyber district’s general area of Tirah on the night between August 31 and September 1 during an exchange of fire with militants.

The ISPR said 36-year-old Havildar Muntazir Shah, a resident of Swabi district, “fought gallantly and embraced martyrdom”.

Meanwhile, it added that the slain terrorist had remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces and killing innocent civilians.

“Sanitisation of the area is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area,” the ISPR said.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in recent months, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the outlawed TTP ended its ceasefire with the government in November last year.

On August 22, six soldiers embraced martyrdom in an exchange of fire in South Waziristan district, the military’s media wing said last week. At least four terrorists were killed in the gun battle.

Last month, as many as 12 soldiers of the Pakistan Army embraced martyrdom in separate military operations in the Zhob and Sui areas of Balochistan.

That was the military’s highest single-day death toll from terrorist attacks reported this year. Before this, 10 personnel were martyred in a ‘fire raid’ in Balochistan’s Kech district in February 2022.

A report released in July by the think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies said the first half of the current year witnessed a steady and alarming rise in terror and suicide attacks, claiming the lives of 389 people across the country.