Islamabad: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has backed the country’s armed forces.
He said full support should be given to the armed forces and security agencies to eradicate terrorism from the country.
The former chief minister, who is in the hill resort of Murree, stressed the important link between law and order and investment, growth and prosperity of the country.
In a meeting with the Leader of the Parliamentary Party in the Senate, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, he called for unity to overcome national challenges and support the counter-terrorism initiative, stressing the need for everyone to be on the same page to overcome the diverse challenges they face. Pakistan.
Nawaz was elected MNA in the last general election but dropped out of the prime ministerial race. He nominated his brother Shehbaz Sherif for the post of prime minister after seeing a split mandate in the general elections held on February 8.
Emphasizing the importance of security, Nawaz advocated continued support to the armed forces and security agencies in their counter-terrorism efforts.
Noting the link between economic and political stability, he called on parliament to play an active role in this matter.
The former prime minister’s statement said that the country’s top military commanders were against seeing Azm-e-Istehkam, saying that some baseless tribes had criticized their views and deliberately blamed them only to promote their interests.
The PML-N president also expressed deep concern about the elements working to destabilize the country and tarnish its international image. The former prime minister saw Pakistan’s struggle as a political gain, saying such elements had no real stake in democracy or people’s welfare.
Reflecting on the country’s past achievements, Nawaz said that problems such as inflation, load shedding and terrorism, which were once successfully solved, have been resurfaced. However, he assured the public that these challenges can be overcome once again with dedicated and committed leadership.
Seven years ago, Sharif said that Pakistan has managed to manage inflation, eliminate burden shedding and bid farewell to the HPG bailout.
However, he lamented the major hardships that have occurred since 2018 and said it has caused severe problems in several sectors. “It will take a long time to fix this bug,” he said.
During the meeting, Senator Siddiqui gave a comprehensive report on the activities of the parliament in the Senate, affirming the PML-N’s commitment to solving the pressing problems of the country and striving for a stable and prosperous future.
Sharif’s statement of support for the security forces came days after the PML-N coalition government led by his brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, announced the launch of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam.
On June 22, the high-level National Action Plan (NAP) committee headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz approved ‘Operation Azm-e-Istehkam’ to eradicate terrorism and extremism across the country.
However, the next day, members of parliament from the Sunni Union Council (SIK) declared their opposition to all military operations and asked the military leadership to start giving confidence to the parliament. However, the government later said that the Azm-e-Istehkam kinetic operation would not take place.
Soon after the new operation was announced, the opposition party not only strongly opposed the decision, but said they would oppose any new operation in the country. Opposition parties have also questioned the results of previous military operations in the country.
Seeing this reaction, the government later said that Azm-e-Istehkam was not an operation but a meeting. However, the debate reigned after Defense Minister Khawaja Asif announced that Pakistan would launch cross-border attacks in Afghanistan targeting terrorists.
Senior members of the opposition in the National Assembly strongly condemned the remarks and said such reckless rhetoric was not only inflammatory but also threatened the fragile peace and fraternal relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Opposition leaders demanded an immediate withdrawal of the statement and an official apology from Asif. They urged the government to adopt a more diplomatic and measured approach to solving security problems.
Since June 22, the government has tried to clarify its position and has now decided to call an All Party Conference (APC) to ascertain Azm-e-Istehkam’s position. Although the official date has not been announced, the PPP and the PTI-turned-SIC have confirmed their participation in the APC.
