Federal cabinet approves ‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam’
The cabinet approved the decision of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan to launch a military operation in light of the current resurgence of terrorism and extremism in the country.
ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam aimed at reinvigorating and re-energizing the ongoing implementation of the Revised National Action Plan.
The cabinet approved the decision of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan to launch a military operation in light of the current resurgence of terrorism and extremism in the country.
According to the sources, the prime minister during the cabinet meeting clarified speculation about the operation, saying that this is nothing like the previous military operations and that people will not get displaced during the intelligence-based operation.
Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement said the recently announced vision for enduring stability named Azm-e-Istehkam is being erroneously misunderstood and compared with earlier launched kinetic operations like Zarb-e-Azab, Rah-e-Najaat, etc.
Read More: Prime Minister Approves Revival of Operation Azm-e-Istahkam in Apex Committee Meeting
A few days ago, a meeting of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in which Operation Azm-e-Istehkam was decided for counterterrorism, however, the opposition criticized the move and expressed reservations about the operation.
Furthermore, according to sources, the federal cabinet also considered the annual report of the National Economic Council for the financial year 2022-23 and approved the decisions of the ECC, CCLLC, and the Cabinet Committee on Government-Owned Enterprises.
Govt to address opposition concerns over fresh operation: Asif
LAHORE: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif Tuesday said that the opposition’s reservations over operation Azm-e-Istehkam will be addressed.
Talking to media here, minister said that the operation’s decision was taken in view of increasing incidents of terrorism.
He said that the nature of the past operations, was different and operation Azm-e-Istehkam’s comparison could not be made with past operations.
Khawaja Asif said that the reservations of the PTI, JUI and ANP will be addressed, and their questions will be answered satisfactorily.
He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief minister’ didn’t express his opposition to the operation.
“The federal cabinet in a session today will discuss the operation,” he said and urged all institutions to support this operation. “All institutions are beneficiaries, while the armed forces offering sacrifices,” he said.
Defence minister also urged for the support from the judiciary and the media for the operation.
A fresh counter-terrorism operation announced by the government last week.
Opposition parties the PTI, JUI-F, ANP and others while expressing concerns over the operation, also demanded that the parliament must be taken into confidence before any decision.
