Federal cabinet approves operation Azm-e-Istehkam

The federal cabinet has approved the operation Azm-e-Istehkam and other decisions taken by the National Action Plan’s Central Apex Committee.

According to Geo News, during the meeting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured that citizen would not face any trouble during the operation and neither would their houses be raided.

“Only intelligence-based operations would be carried out against terrorists,” PM told the participants.

The approval of the new military operation was given after the Apex Committee last Saturday. The main aim of the operation is to re-energised national counter-terrorism drive, to turn up the heat on militants targeting Pakistan.

Later, The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had said that the new operation was approved with the consensus of all stakeholders including provinces, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

However, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Awami National Party (ANP), and others voiced concerns over the new military operation, demanding that parliament must be taken into confidence.

To resolve the issue, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif today in presser said that the government would satisfy the all patties over the military operation.

“We will create a consensus among the [parties]… the opposition parties and allies,” he said. “We will give them ample time to discuss this issue. Whatever their questions or concerns, it will be responded to in a satisfying manner.”