ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff General Raheel Sharif has claimed that ‘terrorist ideology’ has been rejected by the nation.

“The whole nation has rejected the misplaced ideology of the terrorists, who have clearly lost their cause already and are being marginalised,” he told troops and locals during his visit to South Waziristan on Tuesday.

During the day-long trip, being described by military analysts as very significant for being the first detailed visit by the army chief to South Waziristan, Gen Raheel toured several parts of the tribal agency and went up to the area separating South Waziristan from North.

Chief of the Army Staff visits troops in South Waziristan

ISPR Director General Maj Gen Asim Bajwa, who accompanied the army chief, told Dawn that the crux of Gen Raheel’s message to the tribal people and troops in Waziristan was that “we have to get rid of the menace of terrorism and take the country forward”.

It was evident from the messaging from the military side following the visit that the army was comfortable with the public support for its counter-terrorism operations.

Military commanders, including former army chief Gen Kayani, had in the past underscored the need for public support, but have never so categorically claimed to have won the public opinion.

Most of South Waziristan has already been cleared of militants and more displaced families will be returning to the region soon.

In North Waziristan, the armed forces last week carried out aerial strikes against militant hideouts in which close to 80 insurgents were killed. “The targeting was more precise,” an officer said.

The way political parties and the general public responded to the attacks in Machis Factory area, near Miramshah, may have led the army to believe that public support was finally on its side.

Gen Raheel paid tribute to the soldiers deployed in Waziristan and said their sacrifices were “bringing peace and normalcy to the troubled regions”.

The army chief reviewed the development projects being undertaken by the army, particularly the construction of Central Trade Corridor, a 714km road network linking Pakistan’s Indus Highway and Waziristan agencies with the Afghan Ring Road.

The trade corridor, he said, would be a “game changer” for the region.

While visiting a recently established cadet college at Spinkai Raghzai, Gen Raheel said investment in youth was the best investment for future.

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2014