A State Department spokesperson on Wednesday said the United States supports Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism after the country announced the launching of an anti-militancy campaign — Operation Azm-e-Istehkam.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has assured that the civilian population would not be disturbed and under this initiative, intelligence-based operations would be intensified, instead of launching a new organised armed operation.
State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller, when asked about the new operation and the US reaction to its announcement, said: “We support Pakistan’s efforts to combat terrorism and ensure the safety and security of its citizens in a manner that promotes the rule of law and protection of human rights.”
He, during a press briefing, continued that Washington’s partnership with Islamabad on security issues includes its high-level counterterrorism dialogue, including funding robust counterterrorism capacity-building programmes and supporting a series of US-Pakistan military-to-military engagements.
“Pakistani people have suffered tremendously from terrorist attacks. No country should have to suffer such acts of terror,” he said, adding that the US and Pakistan have a shared interest in combating threats to regional security.
Last week, the government decided to launch the operation amid an increase in terror incidents as “a collective multidimensional operation and national vision of the entire state system”.
According to the PM Office (PMO), the new counter-terrorism push was approved with the consensus of all stakeholders including the four provinces as well as Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
However, opposition parties including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam Fazl (JUI-F), Awami National Party (ANP), and others have voiced concerns over the military operation, demanding that parliament must be taken into confidence before taking any such decision.
