Islamabad:  Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif on Friday said that he had taken the  decision for retirement in the national interest. “ I have taken the decision of retirement in the national interest. After retirement I will devote my time for serving the family members of martyrsâ€, he said this while talking to media men before his departure to Okara here Friday.  “I am here to serve the nation. I will continue to serve the nation with high spirit. It is my faith that Pakistani nation is fully committed to weed out terrorism. Therefore, the nation stands shoulder to shoulder with armed forces in ongoing war against terrorism. I fully believe that terrorism will be fully eliminated from our soilâ€, he underlined.  During one of his farewell visits, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif addressed officers of Multan and Bahawalpur Corps at Okara Garrison on Friday, the ISPR said. COAS appreciated the officers over their professionalism and dedication in maintaining an effective vigil along the international border in harsh desert environment, the ISPR said. According to the ISPR, Gen Raheel lauded them for achieving highest training standards and reaching out to people for help in case of calamities and disasters. Upon his visit, the Army Chief inaugurated a state of the art special children school both for civil and military families in the region. He also spent some time with children and staff of the school. Earlier on arrival at Okara, COAS was received by Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmad, Commander of Multan Corps and Lt Gen Javed Iqbal, Commander Bahawalpur Corps. The army chief is paying his farewell visits to different military installations across the country as he is set to retire this month. Earlier this week, General Sharif visited Quetta and Lahore cantonments among other places.
