Federal cabinet approves ‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam’

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved Operation Azm-e-Istehkam aimed at reinvigorating and re-energizing the ongoing implementation of the Revised National Action Plan.

The cabinet approved the decision of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan to launch a military operation in light of the current resurgence of terrorism and extremism in the country.

According to the sources, the prime minister during the cabinet meeting clarified speculation about the operation, saying that this is nothing like the previous military operations and that people will not get displaced during the intelligence-based operation.

Earlier, the Prime Minister’s Office in a statement said the recently announced vision for enduring stability named Azm-e-Istehkam is being erroneously misunderstood and compared with earlier launched kinetic operations like Zarb-e-Azab, Rah-e-Najaat, etc.

A few days ago, a meeting of the Apex Committee of the National Action Plan was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, in which Operation Azm-e-Istehkam was decided for counter-terrorism, however, the opposition criticized the move and expressed reservations about the operation.

Furthermore, according to sources, the federal cabinet also considered the annual report of the National Economic Council for the financial year 2022-23 and approved the decisions of the ECC, CCLLC, and the Cabinet Committee on Government-Owned Enterprises.