Islamabad, Oct 18 (IANS) Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) said Sunday the military operations against the Taliban in South Waziristan may help regain investor confidence.
The operations will spark the confidence of local and foreign investors and change the sentiment in the stock market. This will also help the country combat unemployment, PEW said.

“If successful, like the previous operations in Swat, it will bring peace and economic activity will pick up,” Online news agency quoted PEW President Murtaza Mughal as saying.

Islamabad-based PEW is an independent forum on the world economy with a special focus on Pakistan. It is run by a team of experts devoted to Pakistan and its economy.

According to Mughal, economic progress isn’t possible without peace and, therefore, all segments of society should support the military action as it was not only a matter of life and death for the Taliban but also for the people of Pakistan.

As Pakistan Air Force (PAF) pounded the area, soldiers advanced from three fronts Saturday against the 4,000 to 5,000 terrorists that are suspected to be in South Waziristan, most of them in the Mehsud area.

The Mehsud area was the stronghold of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) chief Baitullah Mehsud who was killed in a US drone strike last month. His deputy, Hakimullah Meshud has taken his place.

The latest offensive comes after the security forces cleared four districts, including Swat, of the Malakand division in the North West Frontier Province of the Taliban. The militants, in a desperate bid to stave off the current operations, had attacked the Pakistani military headquarters Oct 10 and three police establishments in Lahore Oct 15. Forty-four people were killed in the two assaults.