RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif broke his fast with internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Bannu, military’s spokesperson Lieutenant General Asim Bajwa said on Monday.

Bajwa said the army chief spent the day with the displaced persons and interacted with them on issues related to their return and resettlement.

Earlier, General Raheel visited Miramshah in North Waziristan where he was briefed by military commanders on the return, resettlement and development work taken up in order to make the dignified return of IDPs possible.

With the completion of the final phase of the operation Zarb-i-Azb in Shawal, the army has shifted its focus to the repatriation of internally displaced persons.

On May 20, an army officer told a media briefing that eighty per cent of the displaced population will be back in their homes in North and South Waziristan by September.

Pakistan’s troubled Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) have been severely affected by unrest and military operations over the past decade. Last year, the number of families displaced by fighting from different tribal areas was estimated at 260,000.