Government to reach consensus on new Pakistan counter-terrorism operation – defence minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Tuesday vowed that the government would reach a consensus on a new counter-terrorism operation to rid the country of militants, and assured opposition parties that their concerns on the issue would be addressed.
Pakistan’s premier national security forum on Saturday announced a new counter-terrorism operation titled “Operation Azm-e-Istekam (Resolved for Stability)” against militants after a meeting of the Central Supreme Committee on National Action Plan (NAP). The meeting was attended by PTI-backed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur along with senior army leaders and top government officials from all provincial governments.
However, the two major parties in the militant-held Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP), the PTI and the Leaders of the Islamic League-Federation (JUI-F), rejected the operation, saying the government was not taking the opposition’s input into account on the new operation. Leaders of both parties condemned the counter-terrorism operation and called on the government to gain the confidence of all political stakeholders over the operation.
“this [operation] “The bill will undergo formalities before it can be brought into force,” Asif told reporters at a press conference. “The bill will be presented to the cabinet today and then it will be discussed in the Lok Sabha. A consensus from the House will be formed.”
“The opposition and government allies will be given ample time for discussion and their queries and concerns will be answered.”
Asif said the government did not want to achieve any “political objectives” with the operation, but rather wanted to counter the surge in extremism in the country and eliminate it for good.
The minister called on politicians, media, judiciary and the army to support the operation. He said KP Chief Minister Gandapur had not expressed any concerns about Operation Azm-e-Istekam during the Supreme Committee meeting on Saturday.
“In fact, he also indirectly stated that we support this action which will be carried out mainly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan,” Asif said.
No large-scale operations
In a statement issued on Monday night, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the government was not considering a “large-scale military operation” that would result in the displacement of local residents, and raised doubts about Azm-e-Istekam.
“Azm-e-Isteekam is a multi-sectoral, multi-agency and whole-system national vision for lasting stability in Pakistan,” PM Sharif’s office said in a statement. “It aims to reinvigorate and invigorate the ongoing implementation of the revised National Action Plan, which was launched after a national consensus across political lines.”
He said the new counter-terrorism operation would include political, diplomatic, legal and intelligence aspects in addition to existing ongoing operations by law enforcement agencies.
Pakistan has seen a surge in militant attacks in recent months, many of which have been claimed by the Pakistani-Taliban Movement (TTP), a group that has pledged allegiance to and taken its name from the Afghan Taliban but has no direct ties to the group that currently rules Afghanistan. The group’s avowed goal is to impose Islamic religious law in Pakistan, just as the Taliban did in Afghanistan.
Islamabad blames the recent increase in attacks on Afghanistan on TTP leaders who have taken refuge in the country and are running camps to train militants to carry out attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul says the rise in violence in Pakistan is Islamabad’s internal matter and that it does not allow militants to operate on its territory.
