RAWALPINDI: Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which is being carried out in North Waziristan Agency (NWA) to eliminate terrorists and their safe havens, is in its final stages, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif said on Wednesday. General Raheel visited the front lines in Waziristan, where he directed operation commanders to ensure that terrorists remain cut off from their “friends and their outside support”, said a statement released by the Inter-Services Public Relations. “These enemies of state and their financiers will not find a place in the country and will ultimately meet their justified ends,” said the army chief. Reviewing the progress of ongoing operations, he expressed satisfaction over gains made by forces thus far and appreciated the troops’ high morale which, he said, was at display while they fought terrorists in the most rugged terrain, said the ISPR statement. Speaking to troops, the army chief said remaining terrorists in NWA had been squeezed into “penny pockets”, which will also be cleared soon. He said the successes of operation Zarb-e-Azb and the sacrifices of army officers and men have been acknowledged by the entire nation. Gen Raheel also reviewed the strategy on future operations, including the one planned in Shawal. Military operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched in North Waziristan on June 15, 2014, following a brazen terrorist attack on Karachi’s international airport.