ISLAMABAD: At a meeting that lasted several hours on Monday, top commanders of the Pakistan Army vowed to not allow terrorists to regroup or return to areas where the military has been carrying out an operation against terrorist elements.

Presiding over the Corps Commanders’ meeting at the General Headquarters (GHQ) today, Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif expressed complete satisfaction over progress made so far in Operation Zarb-i-Azb.

Commanders were given a detailed briefing on the ongoing operation and the overall security situation in the country.

The army chief lauded the courage and sacrifices of the troops, and emphasised on the need to consolidate operational gains made so far in the operation.

The army chief also expressed the hope that operational gains would be backed up by long term counter-terrorism and counter-extremism measures by concerned stakeholders.

“No stone (should) be left unturned to assist IDPs during their stay outside and in their early return to their homes,” he was also quoted as saying.

Sources said operational commanders briefed the meeting that after clearing Miramshah, Mir Ali was now being swept with 70 per cent of the area already cleared.

The commanders were meeting two days after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif presided over a high-level security meeting attended by the army chief and heads of parliamentary parties.

The meeting was held at a time when Nawaz Sharif is under immense pressure to step down over alleged corruption and election rigging. Speculations are rife in the country about an impending political change.

The political situation has taken on critical dimensions with Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan welcoming Dr Tahirul Qadri’s decision to hold his Inqilab march on August 14 when the PTI plans to march on Islamabad.

Sharif's fledgling civilian government is revealing signs of unnerving, with a number of roads blocked in Lahore and many parts of Islamabad cut off by containers and other barriers.

Some members of the ruling party have expressed the fear that elements that have risen against the government may be getting support from members in the country’s powerful military, which has had a series of disagreements with the government. The military however denies meddling in politics.