Last bastion of terrorists being cleared in North Waziristan: army chief

General Raheel directed troops participating in Operation Zarb-e-Azb to commence with the last phase of the operation

Army Chief General Raheel Sharif on Wednesday visited Shawal area of North Waziristan to review the progress of operation Zarb-e-Azb.

During the visit, General Raheel was briefed by the operation commander regarding operational gains made thus far and the impending operations, the military's spokesperson Lt Gen Asim Bajwa confirmed.



"The army chief was also briefed about the deeply forested ravines of Shawal Valley and the areaa ahead of Data Khel which have been frequent infiltration routes of terrorists between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and are now the last bastion of terrorists left in North Waziristan," Bajwa said in a series of tweets.

#COAS briefed,deeply forested ravines of Shawal,Data Khel,been popular infiltration routes b/w Pak&Afgn,now last terrorist bastion in NWA-2

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 24, 2016

Further, General Raheel also directed troops participating in Operation Zarb-e-Azb to commence forthwith the last phase of the operation in North Waziristan, which aims at clearing the remnants of terrorists from their hideouts in deeply forested ravines.

#COAS directed to commence last phase Ops in N.Waziristan to cleanse remnant terrorists from hide outs in deeply forested ravines&jungles-3

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 24, 2016

"The last phase aims at isolating terrorists and and indiscriminately severing their links with their abettors across the country," COAS told the troops.

isolate them and sever their links indiscriminately with abettors and facilitators anywhere across the country-4

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 24, 2016

Expressing satisfaction over the gains and effects of the operation, General Raheel acknowledged the resolve of troops to fully eliminate terrorists from their left over sanctuary.

Shawal Visit:Troops ready for last phase of ops,determined to finish work asap,in a high state of morale-6 pic.twitter.com/l6v6jDuzu2

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 24, 2016

He lauded their morale, paying tribute to their resilience and sacrifice.



"Sacrifices of soldiers will not go to waste and we will achieve the ultimate goal of a terror free Pakistan," General Raheel said.

Upon his arrival in Shawal, General Raheel was received by Lieutenant General Hidayat Ur Rehman, Commander 11 Corps Peshawar.

#COAS visited Shawal Valley,N. Waziristan today,reviewed progress of ongoing ops.Briefed by Ops comd about op gains so far&impending ops-1

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 24, 2016

Forces regrouped,reinforced,moved in ops area.Local support 4 terrorists even in Shawal Valley totally diminished,people want to rid them-5

— Gen(R) Asim Saleem Bajwa (@AsimBajwaISPR) February 24, 2016

Pakistan Army launched Operation Zarb-e-Azb on June 15, 2014 following a deadly attack on the Karachi airport after talks with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan failed.

Over a year after it began, General Raheel Sharif confirmed that the operation was in its final stages as most of the terrorists in the region had been eliminated.