Pakistan marks two years since start of Operation Zarb-e-Azb

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday stressed on the need to fight poverty, unemployment, instability alongside battling terrorism, as the country marked two years since the start of operation Zarb-e-Azb.

An all-out military offensive against local and foreign terrorists, Zarb-e-Azb was launched on June 15, 2014 following a brazen militant attack on Karachi's international airport and the failure of peace talks between the government and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) negotiators.

In a special statement marking two years of the operation, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who is recuperating in London after an open heart surgery, said the backbone of terrorists has been broken and that they would soon be thrown into the dustbin of history.

"We need to turn Pakistan into a cradle of peace…Pakistani nation is like a brick wall against internal and external foes," he said.

He said the nation was united for the defence of the country.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Raheel Sharif, who lead the country's crucial war against battle hardened terrorists, also visited North and South Waziristan agencies near the Afghan border on Tuesday.

He spent the day with tribal people and army officials. The army chief’s are also focused on the rehabilitation and return of the locals who were displaced from the tribal agency.

The army chief assured that the internally displaced persons' resettlement would continue and be completed before the end of 2016.

"Focus within FATA (Federal Administered Tribal Areas) now will be on efficient border management to prevent cross border movement," he said.

For enduring stability, Intelligence Based Operations IBOs and combing operations will continue with the same vigor across the country, he said.