PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has said rooting out militancy from the country is everyone’s top priority.

In a statement issued here on Sunday, chief minister’s adviser on information Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday talked about operation Azm-i-Istehkam, but the federal government didn’t explain the modus operandi, time duration and other relevant matters regarding it.

“It is important to take the Senate of Pakistan and National Assembly in the loop on this important issue,” the statement quoted Saif as saying. He added that besides political parties, the matter should also be discussed with all the stakeholders.

The chief minister’s adviser stated that his party had called a grand jirga of the tribal elders on June 26 in that regard. He said that details and contours of the operation war not yet defined, and that there were no details about when and where the operation was being planned for.

Mr Saif said that giving an impression that the operation was confined to one province [referring to KP] was premature. He said the province concerned would not be ignored in the consultation process on the matter.

He said that the chief minister’s statement regarding good and bad Taliban was taken out of context.

Stating that the entire country supported the war on terror, he paid tributes to the armed forces and the law enforcement agencies for their countless sacrifices.

Meanwhile, Awami National Party has opposed the operation Azm-i-Istehkam, and demanded that the state must explain why was the National Action Plan not implemented in letter and spirit.

In a statement issued from the Bacha Khan Markaz on Sunday, ANP central president Aimal Wali Khan alleged that militants were brought back from across the border by former ISI chief Gen retired Faiz Hameed with the approval from former prime minister Imran Khan.

“The militants were resettled here. Was anyone punished for this,” the statement quoted Aimal as saying. He added that those who were brought in by the army [to rule the country] were used for approval of the operation.

He stated that incumbent coalition government and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf were equally responsible for this.

Aimal Wali said that ANP openly opposed the operation and would never support it until all the stakeholders, the assemblies and the Senate of Pakistan were taken into confidence.

The ANP central president also said that they would not trust operation Azm-i-Istehkam until details of the previous operations were shared and those responsible [for militancy] were held accountable.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2024