Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif vows to keep fighting Pakistani Taliban

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pledged to continue a military operation against Taliban insurgents in their stronghold of North Waziristan until peace returns to the country.

"I am confident this operation will be a harbinger of peace and stability," Sharif said in a speech in Parliament on Monday, his first comments since the military took action. "The decision on a decisive operation was taken with full consensus."

The army said on Sunday it would target local and foreign militants in North Waziristan, a tribal region near the Afghan border the US has called the "epicentre" of terrorism. The operation, long sought by the US, comes a week after militants attacked the country's biggest international airport.

Public opinion in Pakistan is shifting in favour of stronger action against fighters who were previously seen locally as more of a threat to US interests. The Taliban wants to impose its version of Islamic law in Pakistan, which includes a ban on music and stricter rules for women.

"At stake is the future of Pakistan," said Mahmud Ali Durrani, a former national security chief.

"Do we want a Talibanised Pakistan or do we want to live according to the constitution, democracy? If we want to live according to our constitution and democracy then we have to fight for it, because they are the kind of people who don't believe in these things."

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, or Pakistani Taliban, has warned foreign investors to leave the country.