Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif expressed satisfaction at the in-camera briefing of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security was held at Parliament House on Thursday.
He was talking to the media people after attending the briefing.
Shehbaz said the briefing has been comprehensive and good. “I asked questions but won’t comment because it was an in-camera briefing,” he added.
The PML-N leader said army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also asked questions and he did respond.
DG ISI Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed briefed the meeting on the internal situation in the country as well as the situation in Afghanistan, India and Occupied Kashmir.
He said that Pakistan will welcome the true representative government of Afghanistan’s people and continue to play its responsible role for lasting peace in the neighbouring country.
The meeting was told that Pakistan had played a “very positive and responsible” role in the Afghan peace process.
Committee chairman and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser presided over the meeting.
According to a statement released by the information ministry the DG ISI briefed the leadership on “important external matters, national security, internal challenges and regional developments especially the Kashmir conflict and Afghanistan’s current situation.”
“Due to Pakistan’s efforts, not only was the path paved for talks between different Afghan factions and warring groups, but meaningful dialogue between the United States and Taliban was also started,” the meeting was told.
“We believe in the fact that lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan will actually result in stability in South Asia,” the ministry’s press release added.
The meeting was told that Pakistan will welcome the true representative government of the people in Afghanistan “at every level” and continue its role for the Afghan peace process.
“Pakistan’s land is not being used in the conflict going on in Afghanistan and the hope was expressed that Afghanistan’s soil will also not be used against Pakistan,” the statement said.
Lawmakers were informed that 90 per cent of the fencing at the Afghan border had been completed, while an effective system for customs and border control was also being formulated.
The meeting started in the late afternoon and was continuing till late evening after a break. The information ministry said participants gave their suggestions during a question and answer session in the briefing, and that their “suggestions will be considered an important part of the security policy”.
During the briefing, PPP Chairman Bilawal said that Prime Minister Imran Khan should have attended the important meeting on national security. While the briefing was underway, the premier was attending a farmers’ convention in Islamabad.
The speaker said the premier was scheduled to attend the briefing until this morning, but the Prime Minister’s Office had received a tip that the opposition could walk out of the briefing if the prime minister attended it, according to a source.
The prime minister “made it clear that it was a matter of national security and therefore he did not want to make it political”, Qaiser was quoted as saying by the lawmaker.
Earlier, Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed had said that the course of politics in Pakistan would change following the military’s security briefing to lawmakers.
The country’s politics would now centre on national security after the briefing, he said, adding that he foresaw the government and opposition treading a new path together in politics
In addition to the 29 members of the committee, some 16 legislators had been specially invited to the meeting which was attended by Army Chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, while Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lt Gen Faiz Hameed gave the main briefing.
Earlier, General Bajwa reached Parliament House by a helicopter.
The employees of the National Assembly and the Senate Secretariat were sent on leave while the journalists were barred from entering the Parliament House in the light of the meeting.
The spokesman of the National Assembly said that the media “comes only when the parliament is open, what will the media people do when the parliament is closed”.
Shehbaz told media that he could give his suggestions to the committee after attending the meeting.
On the other hand, Bilawal in an informal conversation with the media representatives on his arrival in the Opposition Chamber said that “first we will listen to them and then we will give our stand.”
Meanwhile, mobile phones were taken from the participants of the meeting.
A large screen for briefing has also been installed in the National Assembly Hall.
