The top brass of the armed forces on Thursday strongly condemned the terrorist attack on Malala Yousafzai, the teenage education activist, and resolved that all possible steps would be taken to root out militant organisations working against the sovereignty of country and killing Pakistani citizens. The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Meeting (JCSC) was held at the Joint Staff Headquarters, the ISPR said. “The JCSC is a quarterly moot of senior military leadership to assess and evaluate the operational preparedness of the armed forces, and to take stock of upcoming challenges,” it said. Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Khalid Shameem Wyne presided over the meeting that was attended by Chief of Army Staff General Ashfaq Kayani, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Muhammad Asif Sandila, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, defence and defence production secretaries,, chief of general staff, director general joint staff, the Inter-Services Intelligence director general, Strategic Plans Division director general and senior military officers from the three services. “Issues related to Pakistan’s national security and emerging regional geo-strategic environment along with the progress on the agenda points of last meeting came under discussion,” the statement said. However, an official seeking anonymity said the life attempt on Malala by terrorists in Swat on Tuesday was discussed in detail by the military leadership. “The participants of meeting strongly condemned the attack on Malala while praising her courage and bravery and they observed that the terrorists who attacked her would not be spared. The army top brass also made it clear that militant bodies working against Pakistan’s sovereignty and killing Pakistani citizens would be taken to task and eliminated,” he said. The ISPR statement said the “participants expressed their satisfaction over the standard of preparedness of the armed forces to take on the upcoming challenges being faced by the country”. “It was reiterated that the resolve to fight the menace of terrorism will be kindred and the armed forces of Pakistan are ready to render any sacrifice therein,” it said.