ISLAMABAD: The government said on Friday it was consulting coalition partners about convening an all-parties conference (APC) to discuss a recently announced military operation, Azm-e-Istehkam or Resolve for Stability, as former prime minister Imran Khan said his party would participate to find out more about it.
Last month, Pakistan’s top national security body notified its decision to launch the operation amid a spike in militant violence across the country.
Leading opposition factions, including Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, objected to the announcement without any debate over the issue in national parliament. They also maintained such an operation would “only lead to further instability in the country.”
Following the backlash, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office issued a statement, clarifying that “no large-scale military operation” would be launched in the country. With few details available in public on the contours of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam, the government has now planned to convene the APC to address the concerns of political stakeholders in the country.
“Our consultation process [on the APC] is ongoing,” Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said in a news conference in the federal capital. “The consultation is going on with regards to Operation Azm-e-Istehkam.”
The minister confirmed the government had completed one round of negotiations with its allies, adding further talks would be held before announcing the meeting’s specific date and agenda.
Earlier today, ex-PM Khan said his party would participate in the APC where the government was planning to take major political parties into confidence over the military operation.
“My party will participate in the all-parties conference and hear what the government has to say,” he told reporters as he appeared to face a case against him at Rawalpindi’s Adiala jail, where he has been incarcerated on multiple charges.
Referring to Khan’s statement, Tarar hoped he would stand his decision.
“Azm-e-Istehkam is a national issue and all political parties should be taken on board,” the minister emphasized while responding to a question if the PTI would be invited to the APC.
Speaking to Arab News, Zaigham Khan, a security analyst, said the government was trying to fix the “communication debacle” which it had made by announcing a full-scale military operation and then issuing a clarification it would not be kinetic.
“The opposition got a leverage point through this debacle and announced a disapproval of the military operation,” he continued, saying that Pakistan was a victim of a proxy war being waged and supported by the Afghan Taliban who were arming and protecting militants associated with a banned network, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.
“There was no need to rebrand the military operation as the troops are already engaged in eliminating terrorism by carrying out different intelligence-based operations,” he added. “The ongoing military operation against terrorists should have been intensified instead of being rebranded without any prior and effective consultation with all political parties.”
He expressed his doubt about the government’s ability to pacify the opposition parties by addressing their concerns about the operation.
“The political environment is so divisive at the moment that the government may find it hard to get a clear approval for the military operation from all political parties,” he maintained.
Government plans all-parties talks on new military operation, with Imran Khan’s PTI to join
https://arab.news/4kupa
Government plans all-parties talks on new military operation, with Imran Khan’s PTI to join
- The information minister says the government is already consulting its coalition partners over the issue
- The government announced the new operation against militants in June without any debate in parliament
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
