PESHAWAR, May 21: Army has arrested 703 terrorists during various operations in North and South Waziristan, Corps Commander Lt-Gen Safdar Hussain informed a delegation of Kabul-based defence attaches of various countries on Saturday. He said 70,000 troops had been deployed along the Durand Line and 669 checkpoints set up along the border to eradicate terrorism. “It is now quite impossible for terrorists to launch cross-border attacks,” he said, according to a press release.

He said 48 military operations had been carried out in Waziristan, in which 306 terrorists, including 150 foreigners had been killed and 703 apprehended.

He said 251 armymen were killed and 550 injured during the operations.

Lt-Gen Hussain said there was a total commitment on the part of Pakistan to root out terrorism and being signatory to the United Nations convention on counter terrorism, Islamabad would play its role to eradicate the menace.

“Stability of Afghanistan is the stability of Pakistan and vice versa and for that reason Islamabad fully supported the Bonn agreement,” he said.

He said there would be no let-up in the war against terrorism and the operations would continue till the last terrorist was arrested or killed. Defence attaches from the United States, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Poland, China and the United Nations Assistance Mission for Afghanistan had called on Lt-Gen Hussain here at the corps headquarters.

They observed that Pakistan enjoyed an enviable and unmatched record as a frontline state in the war against global terrorism and it had achieved considerable success in the fight against terrorist networks.

They said the world community greatly valued the sacrifices rendered by the security forces in combating terrorism.

They said terrorism was a global phenomenon which transcended geographical boundaries posing serious challenges to the peace of the world.

DEVELOPMENT: During a visit to the area on Friday, the corps commander said the government had chalked out a development plan for South Waziristan and allocated Rs900 million for schemes in the areas inhabited by the Mahsud tribe, a press release stated.