Islamabad: The Pakistan Army is carrying out rehabilitation and reconstruction work in the South Waziristan tribal region after flushing out terrorists and maintaining peace in the area, Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said on Monday.
Kayani made the remarks while interacting with tribal elders after inaugurating a cadet college at Spinkai and groundbreaking for the Tank-Gomal-Wana road in South Waziristan Agency.
The Army does not want to initiate operations within Pakistan but had acted to improve the situation and eliminate terrorism in the region, he added.
The Army was deployed in South Waziristan on the demand of local residents and would remain in the area on the wishes of the people and till development projects were completed, he said.
The cadet college is being completed at a cost of Rs 500 million and it is the second such institution in the area.
Under a well-planned strategy, a network of roads is being completed in South Waziristan and this would serve as the third transit link for trade with Afghanistan, Kayani said.
The road network will also reduce the distance between Pakistan and Afghanistan by 350 km, he said.
Officials told the Army chief that 215 km of the to the Tank-Gomal-Wana road had been completed while the remaining 350 km will be completed by next year.
The US has funded the construction of part of the road.
"The United States is proud to partner with the government of Pakistan in rebuilding key roads and infrastructure in the (tribal areas)," said Karen Freeman, acting director of the USAID Mission in Pakistan.
USAID has contributed over 260 million dollars for roads and other key infrastructure projects in the tribal belt.
PTI
