Though external threat to Pakistan has not diminished, it is the internal forces of extremism and terrorism that pose a danger to national security and stability and merits the immediate attention" of the country and its people, the Pakistan Army chief said on Friday.

The country is "confronted with multifaceted challenges" that are complex in nature and their "spectrum is both diverse and intense", Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said in his address to a commissioning parade for mid-shipmen at the naval academy in this southern port city.

While the "external threat to Pakistan continues to exist, it is the internal threat that merits the immediate attention" of the country and its people, Kayani said.

The forces of extremism and terrorism pose a threat to national security and stability, he said.

The fight against extremism and terrorism is fully supported by the nation and the "strong armed forces of Pakistan are a guarantor of peace and stability", the army chief pointed out.

Kayani said "Pakistan stands committed to global and regional peace and wishes to live in peace and harmony with all its neighbours".

Pakistan "will not enter into any arms race but will maintain balance through a strategy of minimum credible deterrence", he added.