The ground offensive finally began on the 12th day of the operation in the town of Miranshah near North Waziristan agency. Inter Services Press Relations also announced an indiscriminatory war against all terrorist groups, including the Haqqanis, besides Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Ground Offensive Commences:
After successfully weakening the bases of TTP through its aerial assets, the military now aims to entirely clear the NWA by initiating ground assault against foreign and local terrorists. Pakistani troops entered Miranshah, the main town of the Waziristan Agency, initializing the attack at 6 am. The Bazaar and Zafar Town areas of Miranshah, haven of foreign militants of IMU and ETIM have been bombarded by artillery strikes and tanks, however, lack of resistance from the terrorists indicate that they may have fled to Afghanistan through the porous border.
Casualties:
According to the official briefing by the DG ISPR, five militants have been killed and six terrorist hideouts were wiped out by shelling fighter jets, raising the total militants body count to 327, including 45 hideouts that were destroyed at the cost of 10 martyrs.
Surrender and Escape:
The surrender centre at North Waziristan was approached by seven terrorists, marking a total of 19 militants who wish to lay down their arms.
Furthermore, 24 militants also tried to escape from the security cordon but were caught within time.
Internally Displaced People:
Currently 466,000 IDPs have been registered while those civilians still trapped in the North Waziristan Agency will be safely withdrawn, said the DG ISPR.
At least 5,552 internally displaced people reached Karachi from Waziristan on 26th June, with their validation still in progress. A three-day polio campaign was also announced to run from 5th July to 8th July to prevent the breakout of the virus in the city.
Other Developments:
In order to facilitate the IDPs, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has prepared a joint plan with the armed forces and the civil administration to provide aid to them in relief camps.
A Prime Minister Relief Fund has also been established for IDPs. The federal cabinet and the treasury members of the Senate and National Assembly also announced to donate their one-month salary to the relief fund.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif along with Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif will be visiting the IDPs relief camps in Bannu on Friday, 27th of June.
Pakistan requested the assistance of Kabul in its mission to eradicate terrorism from the region by taking necessary actions to prevent the fleeing terrorists from North Waziristan to gain refuge in Afghanistan.
The roaming facility of five Afghan mobile networks was also blocked yesterday, thus rendering 45,000 illegal Afghan SIMs unsuitable. These SIMS were mostly used by terrorists for communicating in ransom-related activities.
Contributing Reporters: Khoulah Afzal and Fahad Nabeel
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