Sources said that the militants would now get no clemency, and they would be either crushed or flushed out of North Waziristan.

“This will happen in the next few days before Eid,” they added.

The deployment of military personnel in North Waziristan is under way and will continue until the launch of the offensive, sources said, adding that the military had sealed the Pak-Afghan border to prevent militants from crossing the porous border on the order of the Peshawar corps commander.

North and South Waziristan and the frontier region of Bannu have been virtually cut off from other agencies in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Daily Times quoted sources, as saying.

An Interior Ministry official said that the government had opted for the military offensive after losing hope that dialogue with the local Taliban would succeed, and in view of rising attacks by militants on security forces.

The Interior Ministry official confirmed that a “Lal Masjid-like offensive” would be launched in North Waziristan in the next few days, with the aim of clearing out the militants before the Eid holidays ended.

Sources also said that the Pakistan Government had appointed two officers to share intelligence information with NATO officials on the presence of foreign militants in North Waziristan to prevent their escape to Afghanistan.

They said tribal leaders of South and North Waziristan had helped the security forces identify the hideouts of foreign militants, mostly Uzbeks and Tajiks, holed up in the mountainous region. (ANI)