Corps Commander Lt Gen Asif Yaseen Malik has said that in a bid to go ahead with peace and stability, armed forces would remain in Swat valley and work on the establishment of cantonment at Kanju will be started shortly. Addressing the inaugural ceremony of a temporary bridge over Swat River on Tuesday, Corps Commander said that operation Raah-i-Raast against the militants has already been completed and now rehabilitation and reconstruction is in progress. The armed forces, Gen Asif Yaseen Malik said, are playing a pivotal role in the process.
The Corps Commander informed that beside the temporary Ayub Bridge, which would connect Mingawara City with Kabal Tehil and Matta region, armed forces have so far completed 34 fabricated bridges in scattered areas of Swat. Such bridges, he said, assist transportation. He said that work on restoration of Madayan-Kalam Road with an estimated cost of RS 200 million is in progress and it could be completed within two weeks.
Expressing satisfaction over reconstruction process in Swat, Asif Yaseen Malik said that United States Agency for International Development (USAID), UAE and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have played a key role in it. He recalled that people of Swat have rendered tremendous sacrifices in war on terror. According to him, around 2800 people were killed and more than 3500 injured in terrorism. Now he said that these people deserve access to basic facilities of life.