Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been considering convening an all-parties conference (APC) to take them into confidence over the counterterrorism campaign ‘Operation Azm-i-Istehkam’ after returning to Pakistan from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, sources said on Thursday.

They added that the premier might summon the APC next week.

Last month, PM Shehbaz approved a reinvigorated national counter-terrorism campaign by launching the operation ‘Azm-i-Istehkam’. It was approved with the consensus of all stakeholders including provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

“Azm-i-Istehkam will integrate and synergise multiple lines of effort to combat the menaces of extremism and terrorism in a comprehensive and decisive manner,” according to a statement issued after the Central Apex Committee on National Action Plan in Islamabad.

But opposition parties expressed concerns over the operation and called for taking Parliament into confidence before taking any such decision.

Amidst this, PM Office had issued a statement to clarify that the operation was aimed at reinvigorating and re-energising the ongoing implementation of the revised National Action Plan. The previous kinetic operations were conducted to physically dislodge terrorists from their known locations which had become no-go areas and compromised the writ of the state.

Moreover, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif assured the nation that Azm-i-Istehkam was “solely focused on eradicating terrorism” and had no political motives. At a press conference in Lahore, he assured that the concerns of PTI and JUI regarding the operation would be addressed.

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On June 28, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States Masood Khan urged Washington to provide Pakistan with small arms and modern equipment to ensure the success of Operation Azm-e-Istehkam.

Khan spoke at a think tank in Washington Wilson Center in front of American policymakers, scholars, experts, and corporate leaders, clarifying that the operation includes three elements: ideological, societal, and operational.

He emphasised the need for Pakistan and the United States to maintain robust security ties, enhance intelligence cooperation, and resume the sale of modern military platforms.