ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated on Tuesday that the North Waziristan military operation would continue until the last terrorist sanctuary was eliminated from the area.

In an official statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, Mr Sharif also rejected a perception that the military action had been planned in a hurry.

“(The decision to launch) Zarb-i-Azb was taken after careful deliberations. A full-fledged offensive has now started. All foreign fighters and local terrorists will be wiped out without any exception and no sanctuary will be spared,” he said.

In the statement, the prime minister announced the government’s plans to develop the tribal areas after the military successfully cleared it of terrorists and extremists.

PM Office says govt wants to develop tribal areas after peace is restored

“The state of Pakistan will enforce its writ in the tribal areas. We have planned for the development of tribal areas after the successful operation,” he was quoted as saying.

Ever since the military formally announced full-fledged strikes in North Waziristan on June 15, the prime minister and his cabinet have been going the extra mile, trying to take political ownership for it. Initially, it was the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) that formally announced the launch of an all-out military operation on June 15. The following day, Mr Sharif made a brief statement in the National Assembly, declaring that the government had ordered the armed forces to go after terrorists in the restive North Waziristan agency.

But detractors insist the military planned and launched the assault on its own, without taking the prime minister and his cabinet on board.

Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of his own faction of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, an ally of the federal government, had also expressed doubts about who had authorised the use of force in North Waziristan. Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leaders have particularly targeted the leadership of the PML-N for not taking the lead in the operation.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Sharif, along with Defence Minister Khawaja Asif and Information Minister Pervaiz Rashid, has often stressed how the civilian leadership was leading from the front.

Talking to Dawn, a senior government official privy to the government-Taliban peace talks, said the prime minister always favoured a peaceful resolution of the issue. But following the brazen attack on Karachi airport, the civilian government lost the argument and had to give in to the demands to launch a military operation.

However, the official dismissed the perception that Mr Sharif was merely conveyed the information through an ISPR press statement. The prime minister and the army chief had discussed the issue threadbare in regular meetings and the former was fully on board when the official ISPR announcement came through, he said.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2014