By Hafiz Wazir
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan's army began on Saturday a ground operation against Taliban militants in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border after weeks of air and artillery strikes, a senior government official said.
In a show of unity in advance of the ground offensive, government and political party leaders gave the military full backing on Friday, vowing to weed out militants and restore the writ of the state.
"The ground operation has begun," Tariq Hayat Khan, secretary of Pakistan's ethnic Pashtun tribal regions, told Reuters by telephone.
He gave no details and military spokesmen were unavailable for comment.
The army says about 28,000 soldiers are in place to take on an estimated 10,000 hard-core Taliban. About 500 commandos arrived in the region on Friday, security officials said.
The army has stepped up its air and artillery attacks in recent days to soften up the militants' defences while civilians have been fleeing.
The militants have launched a series of brazen attacks in the past 12 days, striking at the United Nations, the army headquarters, police and the general public, killing more than 150 people and apparently trying to stave off the army assault.
ARMY CHIEF BRIEFS LEADERS
Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani briefed government and party leaders on Friday and they all agreed that the militants posed a serious threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the state.
"The national consensus is reaffirmed to establish and maintain the writ of the state to weed out these elements," Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's office said.
More than 80,000 civilians had fled from South Waziristan in anticipation of the offensive and the U.N. refugee agency said more people had left this week.
Earlier, a government official said authorities had imposed a curfew along roads in South Waziristan to protect forces moving towards militant strongholds.
An intelligence official said soldiers, tanks and artillery were being taken towards militant areas. Telephone services had apparently been suspended to the region.
Roadside bombs went off near military convoys in both South and North Waziristan regions, killing three soldiers and wounding five, another intelligence official said.
Pakistani Taliban made advances towards Islamabad early this year, raising fears about the stability of the U.S. ally.
But significant military gains in the Swat valley, northwest of Islamabad, have reassured the United States and other allies about Pakistan's commitment to the fight.
(For more Reuters coverage of Afghanistan and Pakistan, see:http:/www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/afghanistanpakist
an) (Additional reporting by Alamgir Bitani Kamran Haider; Writi ng by Robert Birsel; Editing by Ron Popeski)
