Roundup: Pakistan military in final push to flush out militants in North Waziristan

Pakistani ground forces are advancing in rugged mountains of North Waziristan tribal region where the Taliban militants are believed to have taken shelter after they fled major towns in the aftermath of the major offensive.

The Taliban and some other armed groups had been in control of major towns, including Miranshah and Mir Ali, until the military launched the much-anticipated operation in June last year. As most of the militants have been killed but the remnants either moved to inaccessible and difficult terrains.

Hundreds of troops, backed by fighter jets and gunships, are now battling the fleeing militants in high peaks that is seen as a

final major push to clear the remaining nearly 5 percent areas of the militants. The militants are taking advantage of some of the dense forest areas in mountains including Shawal Valley. However, the ground troops are now going after the Taliban fighters even there.

The Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif, visited forward most locations in North Waziristan on Friday where the formation commander briefed him about progress of the future plans to clear the remaining pockets of terrorists in Shawal Area. The army chief was informed that the fighting troops have just successfully completed the preliminary phase of Shawal operation and cleared all peaks around this valley, the military spokesman, who accompanied the Army Chief, said.

As the Taliban and their allies are now under mounting pressure and on the run, the security forces have stepped up attacks on their hideouts to quickly clear the remaining areas ahead of the winter. Tribesmen familiar with the areas say the militants could flee either to the other side of the border into Afghanistan or the nearby areas.

The army has confirmed that over 200 militants have been killed since the operation was launched on June 15, 2014. All of the militants training centers in North Waziristan have been destroyed that has ended their capability of carrying out terrorist attacks in the country. Officials have noted a substantial decrease in terrorist activities since the launch of the North Waziristan offensive.

The operation in North Waziristan has also helped the security forces'special integrated teams to carry out Intelligence Based Operations (IBOs) operations across urban areas of Pakistan. The law enforcement agencies, acting on information extracted from the detained militants, severed links between terrorist's sanctuaries in remote areas and their sleeper cells in cities.

Talking to the troops in North Waziristan, the army chief directed all concerned to "continue these operations to apprehend all terrorists, their facilitators, abettors and financiers from anywhere across the country without any discrimination and irrespective of the cost".

"We will not stop unless we achieve our end objective of a terror free Pakistan," an army statement quoted General Raheel Sharif as saying.

The government has already started repatriation of the nearly 1 million people who had been displaced as the result of the offensive. The repatriation process is continued and over 100 families are returning daily to areas where the army has established control and the local administration has restored the normal system.

A tribal elder, Malik Habibullah, said that around 400 families have been repatriated to Edik area of Mir Ali over the past three days. On Friday a convoy of 200 families was sent back from a camp of the displaced persons in Bannu, a main city near North Waziristan, Habibullah told Xinhua by the phone from Peshawar.

The authorities pay cash and food items for six months to all the displaced persons on return. Endi