In-camera briefing: Parliamentary leaders extend unflinching support to government, armed forces

Parliamentary leaders of the opposition parties on Wednesday expressed their confidence in the government and the Armed Forces in an in-camera briefing given to them in the Parliament House. Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Director General Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major General Asif Ghafoor briefed the participants about the prevalent situation on the border with India and international engagements in this regard.
Prime Minister Imran Khan did not attend the briefing while National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar and Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani were in attendance to discuss the security situation. After the in-camera briefing, the foreign minister said that parliamentary leaders of the opposition parties were briefed about the Foreign Ministry's international engagements and strategy to counter the situation.
He said that the DG ISPR informed the participants about the military operations and the Armed Forces' action taken so far to protect territorial integrity and sovereignty of the country. The foreign minister said the Army Chief also briefed the political leadership about operational preparedness of the Armed Forces to deal with any misadventure of India.
"I am happy to inform you that leadership of all political parties was united for territorial integrity of the country and they expressed complete confidence in the government and the Armed Forces," he said. During the briefing, the foreign minister also received telephone calls from his Chinese, Iranian and Saudi counterparts as well who expressed solidarity with Pakistan.
"The Saudi foreign minister conveyed to me a message of cooperation from the Crown Prince and said they want to come here to de-escalate the dispute," Qureshi said, "I welcomed him, saying that we will be happy if you could play a constructive role." The participants were also briefed about the decisions taken during the National Command Authority meeting earlier in the day.
On behalf of the government, Qureshi, Defence Minister Pervez Khattak, Minister for Human Rights Dr Shireen Mazari, Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood and others participated. Former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, former NA Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, former Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Ahsan Iqbal, Rana Sanaullah, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Raja Mohammad Zafarul Haq and Senator Mushahidullah Khan represented the PML-N.
"(I) attended briefing of parliamentary leaders on current situation by the COAS in the Parliament House. Entire political and military leadership is on one page to defend and protect the honour of Pakistan. However, the PM conspicuously abstained from the meeting of parliamentary leaders," PML-N lawmaker Ahsan Iqbal tweeted after the briefing.
Khursheed Shah, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Naveed Qamar, Sherry Rehman, Saleem Mandviwalla, and former Senate Chairman Mian Raza Rabbani represented the PPP.
Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) was represented by Maulana Asad Mehmood, Maulana Wasay, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri and Maulana Ata-ur-Rehman. Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) was represented by Aminul Haque and Senator Saif. Balochistan National Party (BNP) was represented by Agha Hassan Baloch while the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) was represented by Anwarul Haq Kakar and Khalid Magsi. Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) was represented by Tariq Bashir Cheema, according to reports.