Zarb-e-Azb (Urdu: ضربِ عضب ALA-LC: Ẓarb-i ʿAẓb pronounced [zərb-e əzb]) means "sharp and cutting strike".

Peace negotiations with the Taliban were announced by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after his election,[45] although previous attempts to engage TTP in dialogue had failed.

The first session of talks, between committees appointed by the Pakistani Government and the Taliban, was held on 26 March 2014 at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House in Islamabad.

[47] Besides the meetings at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa House, negotiations also involved helicopter travel by government representatives to the areas under militant control near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

[51] The negotiations were irreversibly damaged by a terrorist attack on Karachi Airport for which the Taliban claimed responsibility and which killed 28 people (including security personnel).

On 8 June 2014, 10 militants from the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and TTP attacked Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, killing 28 people including security personnel and wounding at least 18.

Pakistani officials said that the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) were requested to seal the border on their side so that militants do not escape.

According to a military statement, "On the directions of the government, armed forces of Pakistan have launched a comprehensive operation against foreign and local terrorists who are hiding in sanctuaries in North Waziristan.

On 3 April, the Pakistani government declared victory and the end of the operation after clearing 640 square kilometers in Shawal, killing some 250 terrorists.

[180] Pakistan clears last militant stronghold North Waziristan Agency Pakistan Army major was killed and six soldiers injured in a roadside IED explosion in South Waziristan Agency Drone strikes, which were halted for six months at the request of the Pakistani government, resumed for the operation.

DG ISPR Asim Saleem Bajwa reported that 2,763 militants had been killed so far, including 218 terrorist commanders in 9,000 intelligence based operations (IBOs).

[207] It's a matter of great privilege and honor to be commanding such an accomplished and battle hardened Army, We will not stop unless we achieve our end objective of a terror free Pakistan.

One and a half years after the start of Zarb-e-Azb, phenomenal successes were achieved, with the last pockets close to the Pakistan-Afghan border being cleared.

488 officers and men of Pakistan Army, Frontier Corps KPK, Baluchistan, Rangers Sindh were killed and 1,914 injured in Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

[209][210] In July, the Pakistan Army Chief, General Raheel Sharif visited the military's forward-most positions near the Afghan border in North Waziristan[208] He was briefed about the progress and future plans for Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

[211] In February 2014, the Pakistani Finance Minister Ishaq Dar told a visiting US Senator Jack Reed that the cost of the operation so far had reached Rs.

According to senior military officials, civilian authorities were directed to plan the return of the IDPs to their homes in areas which have been cleared of terrorists.

"The civil administration can send entire displaced population back to their homes within a month if the area is de-notified as conflict zone," said an official dealing with IDPs repatriation.

[224][225] - Awami National Party (ANP) member Zahid Khan said, "We also held a dialogue previously (during our government) but that did not produce effective results.

"[63] North Waziristan tribal elders assured their support for Operation Zarb-e-Azb, according to a statement released by ISPR director-general Major General Asim Bajwa.

"Many tribal elders from around Miranshah, Mir Ali, Datta Khel assure support to army operation," Bajwa tweeted.

News media have been televising the live actions on tracking down the militants and targeting the TTP operatives in series of police encounters.

In the afternoon of 20 December, the KP Police and the special agents of the FIA raided a safe house in Shabqadar, a town located in 30 km (19 mi) north of Peshawar.

In an exchange of fire at the safe house, the KPK police and the other law enforcement agencies gunned down the six TTP fighters, including their commander and two other high-value targets who assisted in the attack.

[247] At the night of 20 December, the team of Pakistan Rangers personnel raided a safe house in Manghopir area of Karachi and killed five members of the TTP in a deadly shoot out.

Acting on a MI information, the navy's SSGN teams were inserted in secret hideout in Khyber Agency and stalked the six terrorists led by Saddam Jan— the mastermind of the Army Public School attack— at the midnight of 26 December 2014.

[250] In a late night operations, the SSGN combat teams reportedly hunted and killed Jan along with his six militants, while trying to seek sanctuary.

[251] In another separate midnight action in Lahore, the teams of FIA's special agents, assisted by the Punjab Police, raided a house located in Burki Road.