
Islamabad, Pakistan – Pakistan’s top leadership has approved the launch of a new military operation aimed at quelling a surge in violence.
Called Azm-e-Istehkam, meaning Resolve for Stability in Urdu, the operation was announced after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif led a review of the country’s “counterterrorism” operations over the weekend, especially the National Action Plan adopted in the aftermath of the December 2014 attack on Peshawar’s Army Public School. More than 140 people, predominantly students, were killed in the attack, which was claimed by the Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP.