Imran Khan's party to participate in Pakistan government's consultative meeting on new anti-terror ops

Islamabad: Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that his party would take part in the official consultative meeting regarding a new operation against militants after a dramatic spike in the attacks by rebels against the security forces in recent months. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif last month announced the launch of 'Operation Azm-e-Istehkam' to stem the tide of militancy in the country.

However, the idea of a new military offensive received a cold response from several political parties, including Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

To blunt the criticism about the new operation and win broader support, the government has decided to take into confidence all political parties regarding the new military strategy and hold an All Parties Conference (APC) on the new operation against terrorists.


During his interaction with the media after the hearing of the Al-Qadir Trust corruption case at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi, Khan announced that leaders from the PTI would attend the conference as observers.

"It is an issue of national importance and we will attend the conference for the sake of the country," he said.

The government decided to call the APC to address concerns from coalition and opposition parties about the new operation and build political consensus among parties on the issues of tackling militancy.

The date and time of the conference have not been announced as yet, which is expected to take place by next week.

Earlier, Prime Minister Shehbaz after the meeting of a high-level committee on June 22 approved "Operation Azm-e-Istehkam" to eliminate terrorism and extremism in the country.

The announcement came after a delegation from China visited Pakistan and held talks on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the context of frequent deadly terror attacks on Chinese citizens working on infrastructure projects in the country.