Islamabad: The US will have to take
Pakistan into confidence while reviewing its policy for
Afghanistan as Islamabad has a key role in maintaining peace
in the region, army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani has said.
"The US leadership realises the importance of Pakistan
and its key role in the war against terror. Therefore, it is
out of the question that the US can sideline Pakistan on such
an important issue," Kayani said.
The Americans could not afford to ignore Pakistan
while framing a new policy for the region as they have been
consulting Islamabad on important occasions in the past,
Kayani told reporters on the sidelines of a function yesterday
at which the indigenously assembled JF-17 fighter jet was
rolled out at an air force facility.
Kayani was also confident that Pakistani troops would
soon register a final victory over terrorists who are now on
the run following operations in the Swat valley and South
Waziristan tribal region.
He recalled that the operation in Waziristan was
launched soon after a high-level meeting of political leaders
on October 17 decided to crack down on militants.
"We launched the offensive and took the terrorists by
surprise," he said.
The army will keep on tracking the militants in the
tribal areas and the operation to hunt them down will continue
till peace and tranquillity return to the area, he said.
Kayani dispelled the impression that most of the
militant leaders had fled to Afghanistan, saying they were on
the run.
The army will continue to chase them and the operation
could be expanded for this purpose, he said.
This will ensure that the militants "are left with no
space to regroup", he added.
Eventually, we will totally smash (slain Tehrik-
e-Taliban Pakistan chief) Baitullah (Mehsud)'s terror network
and with the cooperation of the people, the whole area would
be transformed into a peace zone," he said.
Besides securing key areas from militants and
destroying their bases, the security forces had killed 550
rebels and apprehended 15 others in South Waziristan.
Sixty security personnel had died and 150 injured
since the operation was launched on October 17, he said.
PTI