PESHAWAR: Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif has reiterated that terrorists will not be allowed to return to Fata and the army will remain in the area to complete its job.

He said the operation Zarb-i-Azb was in its final stage in a few pockets. “Army won’t go back from the area till the job is done,” Gen Raheel Sharif said during a visit to Wana, the administrative headquarters of South Waziristan, on Wednesday.

According to ISPR Director General Maj Gen Asim Bajwa, the army chief was accompanied by UAE Ambassador Essa Abdulla Albasha Al-Nuaimi and Pesh­awar Corps Commander Lt Gen Hidayat Rehman.

The army chief addressed tribal elders and inaugurated several development projects as part of a post-operation comprehensive rehabilitation plan for Fata, including a UAE-funded Wana Cadet College building for 500 children from Waziristan and the rest of Fata.

An ISPR press release said the initiative will go a great length in propelling the local youth into professional colleges and changing lives of their families. The army chief later commissioned a 132kV grid station and a 54km transmission line in Wana as modern power infrastructure was a longstanding demand of the people of Fata.

Addressing a gathering of tribal people, the COAS said these projects would improve the quality of life of common people, create jobs and usher in an era of prosperity in the area, which is “our main objective”.

The army chief also visited Dera Ismail Khan and inaugurated a USAID-funded 62km D.I. Khan-Hathala-Tank dual-carriage road as part of the 705km Central Trade Corridor linking the region with Afghanistan. The road will reduce travel time between two cities from four hours to only 40 minutes.

Gen Raheel Sharif assured the local people that the plan to rehabilitate them would be effectively implemented and the displaced people would return to a better and structurally much developed region.

The tribal elders thanked the COAS for fulfilling promises made to them about development work.

Gen Raheel Sharif said the army with the support of the nation had successfully evicted terrorists from the area. He praised the support of tribal brethren in combating terrorism and acknowledged their sacrifices in the war against terrorism.

He said the nation had paid a price for the successes of the operation and urged the tribal people to continue to support security forces and the rehabilitation work to achieve the objective of enduring peace and prosperity in the region.

Published in Dawn, September 17th, 2015

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