PESHAWAR: Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif said on Saturday that military operations going on in tribal areas would result in effective border management.

The army chief was speaking at a meeting at which he was briefed about the security situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas and military operations. According to the ISPR, the military’s public affairs wing, Corps Commander Hidayatur Rehman and senior officers attended the briefing at the corps headquarters.

Gen Sharif told officers that the only way forward for the country was to eliminate terrorism. He appreciated progress achieved through military operations against terrorists.

He said that return of internally displaced persons to their homes would start next week. He called for better coordination among the departments concerned to start the process of return of displaced families to tribal areas according to the schedule.

Gen Raheel said combat operations would improve security situation in border areas.

Over 150,000 families were displaced from North Waziristan and Khyber tribal regions when military operations were launched there last year. The government has chalked out a plan to send these families back to their homes.

COAS stresses need for coordination among departments concerned

Under the proposed plan, around 80,000 displaced families would return to Bara tehsil in Khyber Agency and 18,000 families to parts of Mirali tehsil in North Waziristan.

The Fata Disaster Management Authority in collaboration with the Pakistan Army has identified areas in North Waziristan where the IDPs would be resettled. Officials said that return of the IDPs of Bara would begin first.

Published in Dawn March 8th , 2015

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