Govt invites parliamentarians to in-camera briefing on regional situation – Pakistan

The government invited parliamentarians to a closed-door briefing on the regional situation scheduled for Wednesday, according to Justice Minister Azan Nazeer Tarar.

Speaking at the National Assembly on Tuesday, the minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had invited parliamentary leaders and party chiefs to “sit down and develop a course of action so that we can move forward.”

“There are sensitivities that we must take into account and things that cannot be discussed openly, considering the tension in the region and our relations with brotherly Muslim countries,” the minister said.

He said that while Pakistan shared friendly relations with Iran, “we also have long-standing relations with other countries.”

“In particular, Saudi Arabia, with whom we have a defense agreement,” the minister said.

“I am requesting from both sides of the aisle that this is a delicate situation and that we must sit together for Pakistan and for the security of the region in general,” he said.

He further said that the Prime Minister’s Political Affairs Adviser Rana Sanaullah was giving “person-to-person invitations”. He also said that the briefing would be behind closed doors and would be scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

“The future strategy will be taken into account, what you suggest and what you decide,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had also spoken about the closed-door briefing while addressing the Senate.

“We have planned for the parliamentary leaders of both houses, including the honorable leaders of the opposition in the Senate and the National Assembly, to meet tomorrow at 11:30 am for a detailed briefing,” he said.

He said the briefing was expected to also “address” the situation in Afghanistan.

The development comes after the United States and Israel launched attacks against Iran, plunging the region into renewed military confrontation. Tehran subsequently attacked US bases in several Arab Gulf states.

It also comes amid tensions with neighboring Afghanistan. Last week, the Afghan Taliban addressed Pakistani positions along the border in response to earlier Pakistani airstrikes in multiple Afghan provinces against militants involved in cross-border attacks. In response, Pakistan launched ‘Ghazb lil-Haq’ operation and wiped out military targets throughout Afghanistan.

A PPP delegation also met Prime Minister Shehbaz in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the political situation in the country as well as the regional situation.

PTI says it will not attend until Imran is given access

However, the PTI said it would not attend any government session until a meeting was arranged with PTI founder Imran Khan. The decision was taken during the PTI political committee meeting.

In a statement, the party said a meeting of its political committee was called due to the recent national and international situation. The statement said the political committee condemned in the “strongest” terms the “cowardly aggression and massacre” carried out by Israel and the United States against Iran.

“This action is a flagrant violation of international law, a cause of instability in the region and an act that is pushing the world towards chaos and conflict,” he said.

He urged Iran and the Gulf States to demonstrate responsibility and restraint to avoid further escalation in the region. At the same time, he called on the United States and Israel to immediately cease their illegal aggression and provocative actions.

The statement said the political committee reviewed the meeting called by the government on the national security situation and expressed deep concern over the current tense situation with Afghanistan.

However, he also expressed concern that Imran’s personal doctors were not allowed access to him, which was his constitutional right and required by court orders.

“Until the court orders are complied with and arrangements are made for a meeting with founding president Imran Khan, we will not participate in any meeting called by the government,” he said.