Islamabad, June 15: Pakistani Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani Monday flew a combat mission against the Taliban, riding as the co-pilot in an F-16 jet for an aerial overview of the offensive against the militants in the country's restive northwest.
In doing so, he became the first army chief to fly in an F-16 jet. The aircraft was flown by a wing commander of the Pakistani Air Force.
Earlier, while addressing soldiers and airmen at a forward air base, Kayani said Pakistan did not need any foreign help in the war on terror and that the armed forces were "fully equipped to root out the extremists".
Describing the Pakistani armed forces as the "finest in the world", he said they were capable of "thwarting any external or internal challenge".
