ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to organise an all-parties conference (APC) “to gain political parties’ confidence in newly launched Operation Azm-e-Istehkam” aiming to root out the menace of terrorism from the country.
The premier, who is currently in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana to represent Pakistan in global summits of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), will return home tonight — likely at 2am — after concluding his official foreign visit.
PM Shehbaz will hold consultations to decide on the date of the APC centric on the reinvigorated and re-energised national counter-terrorism drive following a spike in terrorist attacks, the sources said, adding that the date would be announced afterwards.
The federal cabinet last week approved the launching of the counter-terrorism operation following the National Action Plan’s Central Apex Committee’s recommendations to turn up the heat on militants targeting Pakistan.
The Prime Minister Office (PMO) had said that the new counter-terrorism push was approved with the consensus of all stakeholders including provinces, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
However, opposition parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Awami National Party (ANP), and others have voiced concerns over the military operation, demanding that parliament must be taken into confidence before taking any such decision.
