Pakistan spends $1.9 billion on anti-Taliban offensive

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today said it has spent nearly $ 2 billion on Operation ' Zarb-e-Azb', the military offensive against Taliban that has killed over 3,500 militants in the restive North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan.

"So far, an amount equivalent to $ 1.9 billion has been spent on the operation Zarb-e-Azb and return of Temporarily Dislocated Persons," Foreign Office (FO) spokesman Qazi Khalilullah said at the weekly briefing here.

"You would be pleased to know that this amount has been spent from Pakistan's own resources," he said.

Over 1 million people fled their homes in North Waziristan tribal region after the offensive was launched in June, 2014 and majority of them are still living in makeshift camps set up by the government.

Khalilullah added that the operation has met with resounding success.

He said that actions had been taken against all terrorists without any discrimination, as there was no distinction between good and bad terrorists.

The remarks came after it was recently reported that the US would stop reimbursements for Pakistan's expenses against militancy after 2015.

The spokesman said that the payments by the US were under the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) for the expenses Pakistan incurred before the start of Operation 'Zarb-e-Azb'.

He said talks with the US authorities for the release of the expenses already made by Pakistan were underway.

The operation North Waziristan has been helpful to dramatically reduce the acts of militancy in Pakistan as the restive tribal district was stronghold of Taliban and al- Qaeda.

Pakistan says that more than 3,500 militants and 300 soldiers have been killed in the bloody operation which has entered in its last phase.