ISLAMABAD: After lawmakers from Waziristan vowed to resist any military “offensive” in their areas, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday assured “all your concerns will be looked into in an in-camera briefing on national security to be held on Friday [today]”.
Speaking on the floor of the National Assembly, the prime minister assured the house that no such decision would be taken which could hurt the sentiments of the people as the members would be allowed to raise their questions and concerns at this special session.
“We’ll address all the concerns of the members and no such thing will be done which deteriorates the situation as our sole intention is to fix the problems”, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Minister for Defence Khawaja Asif said that the military leadership will be present in the special session and respond to the queries of the members.
He said that the military leadership is cognisant of the challenge posed by terrorism, adding “innocent people are suffering due to Afghan war and flawed security policies put forth by military dictators like Ziaul Haq and Gen Musharraf”.
He voiced serious concerns over the surge in terrorist acts in the country, saying those who helped the terrorists settle in the civilian areas must be held accountable.
Earlier, the lawmakers belonging to the ruling coalition of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) warned to strongly resist any military offensive in erstwhile federally administered tribal areas (Fata) and demanded accountability against the generals – both sitting and pensioned – who had allowed to resettle banned Tehreek-e-Taliban fighters in tribal districts.
Speaking on a point of order, Ali Wazir, a tribal member of the house, said any military offensive in ex-Fata will be resisted unless the general – both serving and retired – who paved the way for the resettlement of militants of TTP in Pakistan, are made accountable.
“I would like to call upon the government to stop any such plan if there is any as we’re not going to allow any military in our areas again as we demand strict punishment to all those responsible for the resettlement of militants in Waziristan and other parts of the country,” he added.
Another MNA from Waziristan Mohsin Dawar seconded Wazir, saying no military operation will be allowed as agreed in the recent meeting of the National Security Committee meeting. Meanwhile, Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf called an in-camera session today (Friday) on national security to be briefed by the top military leadership on the country’s security situation.
The meeting will be held at 2:30 PM in the National Assembly Hall under the chairmanship of Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf.
All federal ministers, federal advisers and members of the National Assembly have been invited to attend the national security meeting.
In the meeting, a briefing will be given by the military authorities on the current situation of national security.
The notices of the meeting of the National Security Committee have been issued by the National Assembly Secretariat. The Federal Secretaries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Finance, Defense and Information and Broadcasting have been invited to attend the meeting.
The four provincial chief ministers have been specially invited to attend the meeting.
The four provincial chief secretaries and IGs have also been especially invited to the meeting. The house passed the Tax Laws Second Amendment Bill, 2022. The bill moved by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar amends certain laws relating to taxes and duties.
The house also passed the Hajj and Umrah Regulation Bill, 2022 and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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