ISLAMABAD: Following full-throated criticism from opposition parties, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif clarified that the proposed counterterrorism campaign originally titled Operation Azm-i-Istehkam but rebranded as Vision Azm-i-Istehkam would entail intensifying ongoing intelligence-based operations (IBOs) rather than a “new and organised” military offensive.
The clarification comes after the PM’s Office (PMO) last night stated that the campaign would not be a kinetic large-scale military operation, nor would it entail the mass displacement of the local population.
“The prime minister took the cabinet members into confidence regarding the misunderstandings and speculations regarding ‘Vision Azm-i-Istehkam’,” PTV News quoted the PMO as saying during a meeting of the federal cabinet.
The statement quoted PM Shehbaz: “Azm-i-Istehkam is an overall national vision of a multifaceted cooperation of various security agencies and the entire state system.“For this purpose, already ongoing IBOs will be intensified rather than [launching] a new and organised armed operation,” he added.
“A large-scaled armed operation that would require displacement — the initiation of such an operation under Vision Azm-i-Istehkam is merely a misunderstanding,” the premier was quoted as saying.The aim of the campaign was to “decisively root out the remnants of terrorists, crime and terrorism nexus, and violent extremism from the country”, the prime minister emphasised.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif assured opposition parties that their reservations regarding the newly announced counterterrorism campaign would be addressed.
On Saturday, the government had announced plans for a reinvigorated and re-energised national counterterrorism campaign, which entailed augmenting the kinetic efforts of the armed forces with support from all law enforcement agencies, as well as effective legislation to address legal voids that hinder effective prosecution of terrorism-related cases.
The announcement had come after a meeting of the Central Apex Committee of National Action Plan (NAP), which was chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and attended by key federal ministers, provincial chief ministers, army and airforce chiefs, and top bureaucrats.
However, opposition parties — including the PTI, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam—Fazl (JUI-F) and the Awami National Party (ANP) — had opposed the plan, both inside parliament and outside, demanding that the Parliament be consulted on the matter first.
