Reported by The International News
Barrister Saif claimed the KP government had determined direction that it would not endorse any such activity, quoted by The International News.
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has confirmed it obvious that it will not endorse any military functions, especially the previously publicised Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, until and unless the federal government accepts parliament and the four provincial assemblies into a conviction about the description of the offered movement.
“The announcement of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about launching Operation Azm-e-Istehkam has created a lot of tension and confusion in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, particularly the tribal districts. The prime minister should have avoided such an irresponsible statement on important issues like national security matters,” said Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif, who is the Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Information and Public Relations.
He and other senior politicians including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Asad Qaiser and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai stated their point of view at a Tribal Peace Jirga located in Peshawar on Wednesday about the previous declaration of the prime minister Shehbaz Sharif about the establishment of offered military procedures.
Talking to The News after the jirga, Barrister Saif said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had decided in principle that it would not support any such move until and unless parliament was taken into confidence by the federal government, including the Senate, National Assembly as well as the four provincial legislative assemblies on the government’s plans. “The government will have to share details before launching any operation. This action will have no legal and constitutional status if it is not approved by parliament,” Barrister Saif insisted.
More Read
Questioned about the statements of certain federal ministers who said Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was available at the Apex Committee conference in Islamabad that authorised “Operation Azm-e-Istehkam”, Barrister Saif approved it, claiming the chief minister had ministered the conference and accepted with the recommendations of the committee about the disposal of terrorism in the country and carrying up steps to control mishandling of unregistered mobile phone SIMs, handling explosives being employed in terrorist movements as well as discovering solution to non-customs paid unlisted vehicles in the country.
“The prime minister in the last five minutes of the Apex Committee meeting spoke about Operation Azm-e-Istehkam and his plans for eradicating terrorism from the country. But he never spoke about the details of the operation,” Barrister Saif reflected.
He said, “ neither the prime minister nor the federal government had discussed any details of the operation with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government as to when and where it would be launched and how long it would continue.”
“Being the frontline province in the war against terror, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been suffering from militancy and terrorism for the past 40 years.” The federal government and the state institutions must consider the trials and deprivation imposed on the people of the province. The province and its citizens can no longer accept terrorism.
