PESHAWAR: The army has claimed to have made massive gains in the ongoing operation against militants in Sha­wal area of North Waziristan Agency.

Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement on Sunday that since the launch of the last phase of Zarb-i-Azb military operation in February, troops had cleared an area of 640 square kilometres in the mountainous region adjacent to Afghanistan.

Mana, Gurbaz, Lataka, Inzarkas and Magrotai areas which were the main hubs of militants have now been cleared.

According to the ISPR, 252 militants have been killed and 160 injured. Eight soldiers lost their lives and 39 suffered injuries in clashes with militants in the areas. The battle to clear the last pocket of militants in the border area is continuing.

The ISPR said that during the operation launched in June 2014, security forces had cleared 4,304 square kilometres area and restored the writ of the government.

“The ongoing operation is being conducted in extremely hostile terrain and harsh weather conditions. All heights over 9,000 feet have been cleared, terrorists Marakaz (hideouts) destroyed and huge cache of arms and ammunition recovered.” 

The army said there was virtually no communication infrastructure in Shawal when the operation was launched in February. In the extremely treacherous terrain troops have made 150km of tracks while fighting the war.

Shawal heights are fully covered with snow and visibility there is quite poor.

The statement said that return of temporarily displaced persons (TDPs) was progressing in accordance with the plan and 37,012 families (36 per cent of TDPs) had returned to their homes.

In the first and second phases of operation in North Waziristan, 94 development projects of different types were completed and work on 153 projects is under way in Phase-3.

On Saturday, Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif reviewed progress of work on infrastructure projects in North and South Waziristan as envisaged in the master plan.

Published in Dawn, April 4th, 2016