Pakistan army accuses ‘illegal political mafia of sabotaging' anti-militancy operation

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – Pakistan’s powerful army on Monday accused a “massive illegal political mafia” of trying to sabotage renewed military operation against militants in the country - a thinly-veiled reference to the opponents of the campaign.

Military spokesman Lt. Gen. Ahmed Sharif lashed out at opposition parties which opposed Azm-e-Istehkam, or determination for durability, operation announced by the coalition government last month to counter militant attacks in the South Asian nation.

Except for the ruling coalition, including Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) and Pakistan People's Party (PPP), all key opposition parties, particularly Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, mainstream religio-political parties, including Jamaat-e-Islami and Jamiat Ulema Islam, nationalist Awami National Party, and several other regional parties have opposed the operation.

“This is a comprehensive counter-terrorism campaign launched through national consensus,” Sharif said, while responding to a series of questions during a news conference in northeastern garrison city of Rawalpindi. "It is not just a military operation as it was being portrayed."

“Efforts are being made to make operation Azm-e-Istehkam controversial. But we will not allow to make Pakistan a soft state,” he added.

This year, he added, the forces have launched over 22,000 security operations across the country, killing nearly 400 suspected militants, including 31 “high-value targets.”

Since 2014, the army has launched several military operations, mainly in the northwestern tribal region, which pushed the mother organization of Pakistani militants, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or the TTP, toward neighboring Afghanistan.

The South Asian country, however, has seen an uptick in suspected militant attacks since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in Aug. 2021.

Islamabad accuses “Afghanistan-based” Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and its affiliates of carrying out militants attacks inside Pakistan. Kabul, however, denies the allegation that attacks are being carried from its soil.