Operation Zarb-e-Azb in its final phase: Defence minister

Khawaja Asif says military operation has achieved several successes in the past year

A year on from the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North Waziristan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said on Sunday the military offensive has entered its final phase.

According to Express News, in a statement issued by the defence ministry, Asif payed tributes to the martyred soldiers and citizens, and said “the operation has achieved several successes in the past year."

“We pay our respects to those who have sacrificed their today for a brighter future for the nation," he added.

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He said the nation was grateful for and indebted to the martyrs of armed forces, commending the families of the martyrs for their extraordinary sacrifices.

The military said on Saturday it had killed 2,763 militants since the launch of the offensive a year ago, with the latest air strikes leaving 20 dead.

Read: 2,763 terrorists killed in Operation Zarb-e-Azb

Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched on June 15 last year following a brazen attack on Karachi airport – that signalled the collapse of the government’s peace talks with the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Some 837 hideouts of terrorists have been destroyed and 253 tonnes of explosives recovered so far during the operation, Maj Gen Asim Saleem Bajwa, the director general of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on the micro-blogging website Twitter on Saturday.