Pakistan will launch an operation against militants in restive South Waziristan "imminently", Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said.
He was speaking hours after militants attacked army HQ in Rawalpindi, killing 11 civilian and army deaths while eight militants were killed.
Mr Malik blamed the attack on the Taliban and al-Qaeda, whose strongholds are in South Waziristan.
One militant, thought to be the group's leader, was arrested.
Mr Malik said the government had given its approval to an operation in South Waziristan, and it was now up to the army to decide on its timing.
"The operation is imminent," he said, according to Reuters news agency.
The army has been preparing for a major operation in South Waziristan since it successfully cleared the Swat valley of militants in September.
Correspondents say a string of recent militant attacks have been attempts to dissuade the army from mounting an assault on South Waziristan.
The attack on Rawalpindi prompted US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking during a visit to London, to say militants in Pakistan were increasingly threatening the authority of the state.
But she said the US saw no evidence they were going to succeed, or that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal was at threat.
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