ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Tuesday approved ‘Vision Azm-i-Istehkam’, a re-branding of the natio­nal counter-terrorism campaign ann­o­u­nced by the government last week.

“Azm-i-Istehkam is an overall national vision of a multifaceted cooperation of various security agencies and the entire state system,” a statement quoted PM Shehbaz Sharif as saying.

“For this purpose, ongoing intelligence-based operations (IBOs) will be intensified rather than [launching] a new and organised armed operation,” he added.

The aim of the campaign would be to “decisively root out the remnants of terrorist elements, the criminal-terrorist nexus, and violent extremism from the country”, the prime minister emphasised.

PIA to go under the hammer in August; PM says no new duties on solar panels

PM Sharif reiterated that this would not be a large-scale military operation that would necessitate the displacement of local populations, and that no such operation was being launched under ‘Vision Azm-i-Istehkam’.

In a late-night statement on Mon­day, the government had clarified that action taken under the banner of ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’ would not entail the launch of a new military operation and dispelled that impression.

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The clarification came following vehement criticism of the move from the opposition parties, who dem­anded that parliament be consulted before launching any such move.

In his remarks, the PM also told cabinet members that no additional duties would be imposed on solar panels, to ensure that low-cost energy was within reach for every citizen, a statement issued by the PM Office said.

The prime minister reiterated the resolve to boost the country’s exports by promoting small and me­­d­ium Enterprises and withdrawing privileges from the elite class and those exploiting the national resources. The economic protection of the common man and providing them equal opportunities were among the government’s priorities, he added.

In addition, the federal cabinet was informed that bidding for Pakistan In­­t­er­­­national Airlines (PIA) would be held in August. During a briefing on privatisation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), the cabinet was told that companies who had expressed interest during the pre-bidding process were conducting site visits at various locations.

The prime minister asked the relevant officials to speed up the process and stressed the need for transparency in the entire process.

During a briefing on an Economic Coordination Committee (ECC)’s decision, the meeting was told that the country had sufficient stocks of sugar and the Sugar Advisory Board and other relevant departments had approved the export of leftover sugar, after taking expected consumption into account before the next crushing season and assessing the surplus stock.

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Speaking on the occasion, PM Shehbaz said the government would not tolerate any increase in the sugar price and instructed the formation of a committee to monitor the sugar price and stop its export in case of any possibility of a price hike.

On the recommendation of the commerce ministry’s and the request from the World Food Programme of Afghanis­tan, the federal cabinet approved transit of a truck from Karachi to Kabul carrying the spare-parts of the trucks, just for once on humanitarian grounds.

The body also gave the go-ahead to signing of an MoU between the religious affairs ministries of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

It also extended till March 2025 the time-frame of an implementation committee on the immovable property of late emir of Bahawalpur, in the light of the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s ruling and the recommendation of the States and Frontier Regions Division.

The cabinet also approved the appointment of the executive director of the Frequency Allocation Board.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2024