PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has declared that no new military offensive against terrorists has been planned in the province.

“There are no plans for a new military operation in our province, and even if one is considered, all stakeholders, including the federal government and local authorities, will be consulted. Any future [counter-terrorism] offensive will require approval from our (provincial) assembly,” spokesman for the provincial government Barrister Mohammad Ali Saif told reporters.

Mr Saif said that the apex committee, which met in the federal capital last week, thoroughly discussed the law and order situation in the country but didn’t approve Operation Azm-i-Istehkam.

He also said that the provincial government had no communication from authorities about the launch of any military offensive.

Spokesman Saif says issue of militancy not limited to KP

The spokesman said that the federal government’s incompetence led to the false propaganda about the military action and it was used against the KP government and the armed forces.

He added that the propaganda was meant to create misunderstanding between the armed forces and the people.

Mr Saif said that he hoped that the discussion about Operation Azm-i-Istehkam would come to an end as federal information minister Atta Tarar clarified that the federal government hadn’t decided to launch a military operation.

He said militancy was the entire country’s issue and not limited to one province.

The spokesman said that complaints were made against the KP government as if it had asked the military to launch a military operation against terrorism, while the armed forces, too, were criticised without reason.

He said that after the provincial government was criticised over the issue, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur called the PTI-backed National Assembly members for a meeting and informed them about discussions made in the apex committee’s meeting.

Mr Saif said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl and Awami National Party criticised the proposed military offensive.

“We (KP government) have refuted defence minister Khwaja Asif’s claim that CM Ali Amin Gandapur supported the proposed counter-terrorism operation,” he said.

The spokesman said that if militants were on the run and couldn’t operate openly, it meant that the military was thwarting their plans.

He said that the baseless criticism of state institutions caused confusion in the war on terror that would benefit the country’s internal and external enemies.

Mr Saif said that several military operations were carried out in Malakand, Waziristan, Bajaur, Mohmand and Khyber regions after the approval of the provincial governments and in accordance with the law.

He said that if any operation was carried out in the province in future, it would be discussed in the provincial assembly and would require its approval.

The spokesman said that the PTI held a tribal peace jirga in the province, while the representatives of the provincial government would go to different parts of the tribal districts to speak to the local elders about actions against militancy.

He also said that the provincial government was planning to hold a multiparty conference on the issue of peace.

Mr Saif said that the military never carried out an operation against militancy without taking stakeholders into confidence nor would it do so in the future.

He said that the provincial cabinet approved the formation of a judicial commission to look into the May 9 violence in the province and cases registered over it.

The spokesman also said that the government had written a letter to the chief justice of the Peshawar High Court to appoint a judge for the judicial probe.

He said that terms of reference for the judicial commission would be finalised soon.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2024