Islamabad: The three major political parties voiced on Monday its opposition to the Azm-e-Istehkam, declaring the operation unacceptable under any circumstances. Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman has termed the incumbent govern-ment’s newly launched anti-terrorism operation, Azm-e-Istehkam, as an “instability operation” which will further weaken the country.
The government on Saturday launched a military operation to root out the menace of militancy from the country in the wake of rising incidents of terrorism nationwide.
However, the move was jointly rejected by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) for-mer ally the JUI-F and archrival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Addressing a press conference in Quetta on Monday, Fazl said the state had almost no writ in the country.
“Our history is about fighting against slavery. Did we achieve Pakistan to be the slaves of generals?” he asked.
Fazl, the former federal minister, said that the armed militant groups were openly controlling areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
“They [government] has announced the operation, Azm-e-Istehkam. It is rather a destabilising opera-tion which would further weaken the country,” he added.
The veteran politician asked why the country was being “undermined”.
“Decisions would be made by uniformed individuals wherever they are present,” the JUI-F chief said in a veiled jibe at Saturday’s meeting of the Central Apex Committee on the National Action Plan (NAP).
Continuing his criticism of the incumbent government, Fazl, who was the chief of PML-N and JUI-F’s former alliance with other political parties — the Pakistan Democratic Movement — said that Prime Minister “Shehbaz Sharif is not the premier, he is only sitting on the throne”.
The seasoned politician went on to say that “allying is good but it should be under a mutual under-standing”, as he referred to the potential coalition between JUI-F and Imran Khan-founded PTI follow-ing their consensus on playing the role of a united opposition in the National Assembly and constitut-ing a political committee to address various issues between them and formulate a political strategy.
“We are not opposing any alliance as the process of political actors’ consultations should continue,” he added.
Earlier, The Awami National Party (ANP) voiced on Monday its opposition to the Azm-e-Istehkam, de-claring the operation unacceptable under any circumstances.
Yesterday, Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (PTI) and Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) also declared their refusal to support any military operation, demanding that military leadership take Parliament into confidence first.
Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Faisal Karim Kundi visited the ANP’s Bacha Khan Center in Pesha-war, where he met with the party’s top leadership to discuss security and political matters.
During a media briefing, ANP leader Mian Iftikhar stated that the roots of terrorism lie in Punjab, ex-pressing serious reservations about the decision to launch Operation Istehkam Pakistan.
Meanwhile, The head of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Hafiz Naeemur Rehman, criticised the decision to launch Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, saying it was made without consulting Parliament.
“Operation Azm-e-Istehkam was decided without any consideration for the Parliament,” said Rehman. “Pakistan needs political stability, not military operations.”
Rehman expressed concerns that no national, political, or democratic leadership was consulted about the operation. “Without national consensus, the operation will not achieve its objectives,” he stated.
He agreed on the need for defined actions instead of military operations. “The people of Pakistan, es-pecially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, cannot bear the burden of military operations,” he added.
Rehman said his party seeks peace, the eradication of terrorism, and an end to all forms of religious, political, and social extremism in the country.
“Peace, economic, and political stability can only come through a government formed by the people’s mandate,” concluded Rehman. –Agencies
