MIRAMSHAH: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited on Thursday a bazaar in North Waziristan’s Miramshah town where he saw the militant hideouts destroyed during the Zarb-i-Azb military operation.

Accompanied by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif, he was taken to various areas of the headquarters of North Waziristan and shown operational and residential quarters which had been occupied by terrorists.

The prime minister visited the destroyed underground command and control centre used by militants to carry out operations in various parts of the country.

Sharif addresses troops, North Waziristan IDPs

At a bomb making factory, he was shown large gas cylinders used in vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices. Hundreds of people had been killed in explosions caused by these devices in various parts of the country, he was informed.

Mr Sharif was also shown the media cell used by the militants to spread messages through social, electronic and print media and the place where suicide bombers recorded their farewell messages before going out on their killing missions.

He saw the weapons, ammunition, communication equipment, survival kits, suicide vests and medical equipment used by the terrorists.

BRIEFING: The prime minister was briefed on the Zarb-i-Azb operation by army officers. He was informed that over 1,000 terrorists had been killed and 90 per cent area of the volatile agency cleared of militants.

The Air Force, artillery units and Special Services Group have played a key role in the success of the operation and added a new chapter of chivalry to the country’s military history.

Mirali, Dekan, Boya and Dattakhel have been cleared, the militants’ command and control centre destroyed and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition recovered from hideouts, including multi-barrel rocket launchers, automatic rifles, mines and bomb-making and communication equipment.

The prime minister was also informed about the facilities being provided to the internally displaced persons at the Bakakhel camp in Bannu. Around 2,517 families are living at the camp and they have access to clean drinking water, food, electricity and other essential items.

The government has paid Rs15,000 to each family.—APP

Abdus Salam adds from Bannu: Gen Raheel Sharif, Corps Commander Peshawar Lt Gen Hidayatur Rehman, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan and Minister for States and Frontier Regions Abdul Qadir Baloch attended the briefing.

Addressing the troops after the briefing, the prime minister said the ongoing fight against militants was the most difficult and complex stage of the war.

“The enemy in this war is invisible and strikes from hideouts,” he said, adding that morale of security forces was very high and they would win this war.

He said the country would be safe, peaceful and prosperous after this conflict. He congratulated Gen Raheel Sharif on the successes achieved in the operation and paid tribute to soldiers who had laid down their lives in the line of duty.

Addressing the displaced people at the Bakakhel camp, Prime Minister Sharif said his government would utilise all available resources to ensure early rehabilitation of the IDPs of North Waziristan.

He said the tribal people had rendered great sacrifices for the security of the country and their sacrifices would never be forgotten. “We want the rehabilitation and reconstruction process to start soon in North Waziristan.”

He assured the IDPs that the current scenario in North Waziristan would be changed and massive reconstruction activities would be launched. Miramshah would be developed into a model town. He said the government would provide all resources to the army for the rehabilitation programme in the area.

He said the youths of North Waziristan would be trained in vocational and technical institutes.

Later, the prime minister exchanged Eid greetings with the IDPs and prayed for their early return to their homes and comfortable lives.

Published in Dawn, October 10th, 2014