Pakistan launches 'Zarb-e-Azb' military operation in N #Waziristan شمالی وزیرستان میں آپریشن ضرب عزب شروع کردیا گیا

ISLAMABAD: On the directions of the government, the Pakistan Army has launched a comprehensive operation against foreign and local terrorists who are hiding in sanctuaries in North Waziristan Agency, a week after a brazen insurgent attack on the country's busiest airport in Karachi.

“The operation has been named Zarb-e-Azb,” said an Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) statement on Sunday.

“Using North Waziristan as a base, these terrorists had waged a war against the state of Pakistan and had been disrupting our national life in all its dimensions, stunting our economic growth and causing enormous loss of life and property.”

“They had also paralysed life within the agency and had perpetually terrorised the entire peace loving and patriotic local population,” the statement quoted DG ISPR Maj Gen Asim Bajwa as saying.

He said, “Our valiant armed forces have been tasked to eliminate these terrorists regardless of hue and color, along with their sanctuaries.”

“With the support of the entire nation, and in coordination with other state institutions and Law Enforcement Agencies, these enemies of the state will be denied space anywhere across the country.”

“As always, armed forces of Pakistan will not hesitate in rendering any sacrifice for the motherland,” it added.

The all important announcement came after overnight air strikes by Pakistani jets that killed more than 50 foreign militants, mostly Uzbeks, in North Waziristan.

Strikes took place in the Boya tehsil, Degan forests and Datta Khel tehsil of North Waziristan.

After the announcement of the full-scale operation in the North Waziristan area, a security official on ground said that thousands of troops have been moved for action, AFP reported.

“Thousands of troops will participate in this action. You can roughly say 25,000 to 30,000 troops will be involved in the operation,” the official said on the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to media.

Local security officials put the death toll far higher, saying that about 150 militants died in the air strikes, which primarily targeted Uzbek fighters in a remote area of the tribal agency.

Among the dead were insurgents linked to last Monday's all-night siege of Karachi airport that killed 38 people, including 10 attackers, and all but destroyed a tentative peace process between the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the government.

Source Dawn.com