KP govt says no to fresh military offensive

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has made it clear that it will not support any military operation, particularly the recently announced Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, until and unless the federal government took parliament and the four provincial assemblies into confidence about details of the proposed action.

“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 expressed their views at a Tribal Peace Jirga held in Peshawar on Wednesday about the recent announcement of the prime minister about the launch of proposed military operation.

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 future 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.

Asked about the statements of certain federal ministers who said Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur was present in the Apex Committee meeting in Islamabad that approved “Operation Azm-e-Istehkam”, Barrister Saif confirmed it, saying the chief minister had attended the meeting and agreed with the proposals of the committee about eradication of terrorism in the country and bringing measures to prevent misuse of unregistered mobile phone SIMs, regulating explosives being used in terrorist activities as well as finding solution to non-customs paid unregistered 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 recalled.

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 realise the hardships and losses inflicted on the people of this province. The province and its people can no longer afford violence,” he said.