• Imran confirms his party wants to take part in multi-party moot on ‘Vision Azm-i-Istehkam’
• Govt welcomes decision, Tarar says no date finalised for consultation yet
• Bilawal says political parties will get an opportunity to express their opinions

ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday welcomed Imran Khan’s decision to participate in a multi-party conference (MPC) to discuss the proposed military action, ’Azm-i-Istehkam’, indicating a significant thaw in the political ice around this newly-announced ‘vision’.

“It is good to hear PTI founder’s statement regarding participation in the MPC,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said, hoping that Imran Khan would stand by his words.

Earlier, in the day, Mr Khan said his party would participate in the government’s MPC to discuss the military operation. The PTI issued a statement of Mr Khan on social media platform X, saying: “Our party will participate in APC and will listen to the government’s position. Law and order is a national issue. We will participate in APC for the sake of the country.”

Talking to reporters after attending the proceedings in the £190m corruption case, the PTI founding chairman himself confirmed that his party would participate in the MPC.

Mr Khan said PTI had concerns over operation Azm-i-Istehkam, ass­erting it would only lead to an inc­rease in instability in the country.

No date finalised yet

When contacted, Information Minister Tarar told Dawn that the government had decided on Friday to convene the MPC, and initiated the consultation process with its allied parties. He, however, said no date for the meeting had been finalised till then. “Once we will complete consultation with our coalition partners, the meeting’s date will be announced,” he added.

Earlier, speaking at a press conference, Mr Tarar said one round of talks had taken place, and also referenced Imran Khan’s statement, expressing the hope that “he will remain committed to it, as this is a matter of national importance, and all political parties should be taken on board”.

The minister assured that all details would be made public once they were finalised, adding that more parties were being contacted in this regard.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif also welcomed the PTI’s decision to join the MPC. In a private TV show, the minister said the government had extended invitations to the PTI for talks in the past, and this offer remained open.

Mr Asif highlighted that PML-N President Nawaz Sharif had always kept the doors of negotiations open, demonstrating political insight. He said that while previous efforts at dialogue were boycotted, PTI’s current willingness to engage was a positive development.

“The participation of every small and big political party in the APC convened on the issue of national security is among the priorities of the government,” he said.

The minister emphasised that addressing terrorism was a national issue that should transcend political differences.

Bilawal backs MPC

Separately, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari confirmed that his party would attend the MPC, particularly bringing Balochistan’s perspective on terrorism to the table. “The PPP has a clear and comprehensive policy on terrorism,” he said at a press conference in Quetta.

“PPP is in favour of reaching a consensus on all matters pertaining to the country, including fighting terrorism, since we have our own policy and a strong commitment to eliminating terrorism from the country. The APC will provide an opportunity to all political parties to express their opinions,” he said.

“The PPP will not only attend and send representatives, but will share its perspective and position on Balochistan. We need to form a consensus to effectively deal with these issues,” he said, confirming his party’s participation in the MPC.

As a new spate of terrorism is surfacing in the country, the reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism campaign was announced by the Central Apex Committee on the National Action Plan last month. The government vowed to unleash the full force of the country’s military, diplomatic, legislative, and socio-economic arsenal to decisively defeat terrorism and extremism.

Azm-i-Istehkam is the latest in a series of counterterrorism operations launched by the army since the mid-2000s. More recent operations include Zarb-i-Azb, launched in 2014 by then Gen Raheel Sharif in North Waziristan, and Raddul Fasaad, initiated in 2017 under ex-Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa to eliminate what was then described as “residual terrorist threats”.

While these operations achieved tactical successes, including the reduction of terrorist incidents and the elimination of high-value targets, they did not completely eradicate militancy from.

The latest operation was opposed by the opposition who had called for the parliament to be taken into confidence before any such measure.

Saleem Shahid in Quetta also contributed to this report

Published in Dawn, July 6th, 2024