Islamabad : Pakistan's top military commanders had ruled out an imminent offensive in North Waziristan, contradicting a newspaper report that Pakistan had agreed to assault the militant-infested region following pressure from the United States.
Speaking at a news conference in Mohmand Agency, Lieutenant-General Asif Yasin Malik, commander of the 11th Corps based in Peshawar, said there was no change in his forces' posture in the last weeks.
Pakistan's The News newspaper reported on Monday that the military would launch an offensive against militant safe havens in North Waziristan.
Later on Monday a senior official with an international humanitarian agency said relief groups active in the northwest region were quietly told two weeks ago to prepare for up to 365,000 displaced people in advance of a military offensive.
But Pakistan military spokesman Major-General Athar Abbas said the armed forces were too stretched to go into North Waziristan, pointing to ongoing operations elsewhere.
