ISLAMABAD: The military launched a long-expected full-scale operation against terrorists in the North Waziristan Agency on Sunday, days after a deadly gunfight with Taliban at Karachi airport killed 38, including 10 attackers."On the directions of the government, armed forces of Pakistan have launched a comprehensive operation against foreign and local terrorists who are hiding in sanctuaries in North Waziristan Agency," a statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa as having said. "The operation has been named Zarb-e-Azb."
This is the third full-scale military operation launched in the militancy-plagued north western belt since 2009, following operation Raah-e-Raast and operation Raah-e-Nijaat.
"Using North Waziristan as a base, these terrorists had waged a war against the state of Pakistan and had been disrupting our national life in all its dimensions, stunting our economic growth and causing enormous loss of life and property. They had also paralyzed life within the agency and had perpetually terrorized the entire peace loving and patriotic local population," the ISPR DG said.
| "Plus, they were embarrassing us." |
With the launch of the military operation, a peace agreement struck between militant commander Hafiz Gul Bahdur and the government comes to an end, security officials said.
| Neither "peace agreement" nor "military operation" have the meaning you'd expect when it comes to Pakistain... |