KARACHI: Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Sunday appreciated the role of intelligence agencies and security forces in ‘winning back dissidents and anti-national elements into the national mainstream’. Speaking at the Karachi Corps Headquarters, the COAS reiterated that efforts will continue till restoration of complete normalcy in Karachi and the rest of Sindh, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. The continuing surgical operation in Karachi against criminal elements in the city began in September 2013. According to the military’s media wing, Gen Bajwa was briefed on Karachi’s security situation, progress of Operation Raddul Fasaad, which was initiated in February this year following a country-wide terror wave, and support to census in Sindh. “The COAS appreciated the efforts of Pakistan Army and Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) for their contributions towards successful execution of these assignments,” the statement said. “Peace in Karachi is vital for stability in Pakistan,” he maintained. Pakistan embarked on the enormous task of conducting its first census in almost two decades in March. The fast-growing country is the sixth most populous in the world, with an estimated 200 million people, but has not held a census since 1998, despite a constitutional requirement for one every decade.