Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said today that the military operation in the country's restive North Waziristan tribal region has dealt a fatal blow to the militants.
Sharif chaired a high-level meeting to discuss formulation of a comprehensive strategy for the rehabilitation of people displaced due to Operation Zarb-e-Azb and reconstruction of areas affected by the offensive launched in June.
According to a statement by his office, Sharif said at the meeting that "Zarb-e-Azb has inflicted a fatal blow to terrorists and Pakistan's armed forces have given exemplary sacrifices in this operation".
He also said that "peace restored as a result of this operation would also contribute towards ensuring peace in the entire region".
The Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) gave a detailed presentation about the operation, which has displaced about a million people.
As most of the areas have been cleared, the government is now planning to resettle the people.
Sharif said the affected people gave sacrifices for the stability of Pakistan and the country will look after their needs by reconstructing a better area for them when they return.
According to the military, more than 1,200 militants have been killed and their command and control system destroyed.
Army Chief General Raheel Sharif, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Mehtab Ahmed Khan, Minister for Frontier Region Abdul Quadir Baloch and Advisors to the premier Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatemi attended the meeting.
