Quoted in Dawn News
On Saturday, The government announced the operation known as Azm-i-Istehkam. This operation is intended to leverage the country’s full military, diplomatic, legislative, and socioeconomic resources to decisively address the threats of terrorism and extremism.
This operation was approved by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the other attendees of a meeting of the Central Apex Committee of the National Action Plan.
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After the meeting, this operation was announced. In the regards of this, the Prime Minister’s office said in a statement that:
“The prime minister approved a reinvigorated and re-energized national counterterrorism campaign through the launching of Operation Azm-i-Istehkam, with the consensus of all stakeholders including the provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, symbolizing the national resolve to eradicate extremism and terrorism from the country,”
This operation is the latest in a series of counterterrorism operations launched by the Pakistan Army since the mid-2000s.
Moreover, this operation came out when security concerns were high, especially with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) being a significant project.
As on Friday, Chinese officials pointed out the security issues of Chinese investors in Pakistan.
“Security threats are the main hazards to CPEC cooperation. As people often say, confidence is more precious than gold. In the case of Pakistan, the primary factor shaking the confidence of Chinese investors is the security situation,” Liu Jianchao emphasized.
However, opposition parties in Pakistan are not happy with the way the government is handling this. They want parliament to be involved in the decision-making process before launching any new military offensives.
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif criticizes the opposition for not supporting the new operation.
He said: “We do not want to take any step that can be targeted under the guise of political interests. If they have any objections, then God-willing, when that issue will be put before this House, they can also speak on it,”
“They (opposition) are standing with the terrorists by protesting here today. They are protesting against the martyrs of the Pakistan Army and the army that is still making sacrifices to [counter] terrorism. They have not backed off from their May 9 stance even today,” he further added
