Shawal next target for army operation

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Shawal Valley of Pakistan's tribal region is the next target of the armed forces operating in North Waziristan, senior officials told a gathering of Pakistani-Americans at the embassy.

This weekend, the embassy in Washington hosted the first ever convention of the Pakistani-American community and briefed them on various issues confronting the country.

Officials told the gathering that the government was forced to launch Zarb-i-Azab military operation after all other efforts failed. Even so, the government consulted all political forces in the country before launching the operation.

They said that the militants were never serious about negotiations and continued to attack both civilian and military targets across the country even while holding talks with the government.

"We were worried about the blowback but then the entire country came to the conclusion that the state has to re-establish its writ," said one of the officials.

"And that's when the operation was launched."

Another official pointed out that the blowback was 'milder than feared because our coordinated efforts did not give them the chance to retaliate'.

The official also informed the audience that all security agencies were participating in the effort to eliminate the militants.

"While the main effort is focused on North Waziristan, agencies are also fighting militants across the country, including Karachi," another official said.

"We successfully neutralised their sleeper cells and sympathisers and reduced the space for retaliation."

The officials explained that the militants hiding in North Waziristan fled to four directions, within the operation area, to other tribal areas, to major cities in the country and to Afghanistan.

"The armed forces have pushed the militants out of their hideouts but some are still hiding in Shawal Valley," one official said.