Pakistan pledges victory over extremists

PESHAWAR, Pakistan, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- The terrorist threat to the Pakistani citizens in the tribal regions and throughout the country will be met with full force, Pakistani military officials said.

Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani army chief of staff, met with local government officials and tribal elders from North-West Frontier province to discuss security measures in the area.

The general said the country is facing a sustained threat from extremists that will be met with the full might of the Pakistani military force, Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reports.

Pakistani in October launched a major military offensive against Taliban and other militants operating from the volatile tribal regions along the border with Afghanistan.

The Taliban, for their part, vowed revenge for the August assassination of their leader Baitullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. airstrike.

Kayani also paid a visit to local hospitals to meet with victims of the terrorist attacks that plagued the country in recent weeks.

The general said more than $240,000 would go to family members of military personnel who lost their lives in the latest combat operations.