Clean-up operation in Karachi to be completed, says Nawaz Sharif

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said today that the ongoing military operation in Karachi will be taken to its logical end by smashing crime and militancy in the financial hub of the country.

"We started the Karachi operation with great determination and there will be no let-up in this operation," Sharif said while talking to the media after a meeting here.

He said that terrorists have been weakened and the situation in Karachi has significantly improved since the operation was launched in 2013.

"Karachi will become peaceful within next two years as terrorists are being neutralised," he said.

Talking about militancy in the country, he said that Pakistan was fighting a decisive war against terrorism. He also condemned the recent killing of journalists in Karachi.

"Terrorists are carrying out cowardly acts by attacking media and police personnel in Karachi in their last attempts to keep themselves alive," he said.

Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and commercial centre, has long been plagued by political, ethnic and criminal violence.

Sharif also hailed the sacrifices of law enforcement agencies, especially the army in the fight against militants.

He also said that the nation will never forget last year's Peshawar school attack tragedy in which nearly 150 children were killed by the Taliban.