RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif on Tuesday said tribal elders in North Waziristan were “happy” with improved security and peace and had requested the army to stay in the area till the process of reconstruction and resettlement was completed.

On a visit to the tribal agency where the army has been conducting an air and ground offensive against outlawed militants since June 2014, Gen Raheel claimed “good progress had been made in the Shawal operation.”

The army chief also attended the earth breaking ceremony of a sports complex in the agency. He said tribal people in the area were “keen to resume a productive life,” said Lt Gen Asim Bajwa, head of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Bajwa quoted the army chief as saying the “farthest edges of the agency [North Waziristan] were now being cleared” and that around “650 square kilometres had already been cleared in the final phase so far.”

The ISPR chief said Gen Raheel had also directed to ensure complete return of all temporary displaced persons (TDPs) by the end of 2016.

The military establishment had recently announced that it was about to conclude the military offensive in tribal areas and held deliberations on the post-operations phase.

Gen Raheel while chairing a corps commanders meeting at the General Headquarters, had called for ensuring that terrorists do not get a foothold in the region again.

“COAS emphasised, as we move towards conclusion of large-scale kinetic operations in Fata, there is a need to look ahead and consolidate the gains for long-term stability,” an ISPR statement on the meeting had said.

The military operations in North Waziristan, codenamed Zarb-i-Azb, which commenced in June 2014, are now in the last phase with troops consolidating control of Shawal Valley.