Defense Minister Khawaja Asif said that most of the ‘Azm-e-Istehkam’ operations would be conducted in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Baluchistan and said that the detailed framework would be clarified in the coming days.
“If we agree to carry out [Operation Azm-e-Istehkam], we will also agree on the details,” Asif said at a press conference held at the PML-N Secretariat in Model City, Lahore on Tuesday.
“This operation will be quite different from the previous one. It will start with counter-terrorist measures. This operation has no political purpose; its only purpose is to fight the latest spread of terrorism and therefore must be supported by all.”
Asif said the previous government’s decision to pardon terrorists had a negative impact.
“According to the military leader, the decision to grant amnesty to terrorists was taken by the civilian leader. The issue will be openly discussed to reach an agreement.”
He said that the support of the bureaucracy and the media is important, and said, “We need to get a consensus on this process at home.”
Asif acknowledged the political parties’ concerns about vote banks, but assured them that the legal and constitutional aspects would be resolved.
The defense minister said that previous operations had led to displacement, but the operation would be based on intelligence.
He said that different parts of the country are under the control of terrorism while preparing the national action plan.
“Unfortunately, there are no Taliban rules that require this plan.”
Some areas of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) are still affected, but the situation is not as bad as before, he said.
We fought two wars under the regime of Zia-ul-Haq and Musharraf for the benefit of the United States (USA). But this operation was carried out on our own terms, not at the behest of China or anyone else. “
“There was peace after Radd-ul-Fasaad and Zarb-e-Azb, but this wave came after the re-deployment of the Taliban. The world is peaceful, NATO forces are gone, but we are still fighting.” noted.
Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, launched in 2017, involved the active participation of the Pakistan Army, Air Force, Navy and other law enforcement agencies, with more than 375,000 operations conducted and thousands of militants killed.
It builds on the achievements of the previous Operation Zarb-e-Azb, a 2014 joint military offensive against militants in North Waziristan.
The defense minister highlighted the daily sacrifices made by Pakistan’s armed forces and urged the judiciary, media, politicians and institutions to support the operation.
The defense minister said there would be no evacuations during the operation.
Asif said the decision to launch Azm-e-Istehkam was taken by a high-level committee consisting of all the chief ministers and no one opposed it.
This will be discussed in detail in today’s assembly and all the concerns of the opposition will be resolved,” he said.
On June 23, the Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) and the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIK) announced their refusal to support any military operation and demanded that the military leaders first receive the confidence of the Parliament.
Furthermore, the Nationalist Party (ANP) in Miami yesterday announced its opposition to Azm-e-Istehkam and stated that the operation is not acceptable under any circumstances.
Asif discussed Afghanistan: “I went to Afghanistan for talks, others continued their visits. The Kabul government has expressed cooperation, but there is no significant progress.”
The minister said that a committee comprising the prime minister, four chief ministers and the army chief had agreed to the operation.
“Today it will be discussed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers and they will answer the questions of the coalition parties.”
On June 22, the apex committee of the National Action Plan headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved “Operation Azm-e-Istehkam” to eradicate terrorism and extremism across the country.
