An in-camera meeting of leaders and representatives of the parliamentary parties which was held in Islamabad with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair on Wednesday, has decided to hold a debate in the Parliament on the worsening situation in the Middle East and the Pakistan-Afghanistan conflict.
The meeting was given an in-depth briefing on the Middle East war and the diplomatic efforts launched by Pakistan to defuse the situation.
Though the PTI members of the parliament (MPs) stayed away from the in-camera briefing, the parliamentary leaders expressed their opinion openly giving suggestions to deal with the crisis.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel’s inside story, PM Shehbaz briefed the meeting about the Afghanistan and Middle East situation, while parliamentary leaders from various political parties openly expressed their views during the in-camera session and offered suggestions.
Addressing the meeting, the prime minister said the opposition party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), had prioritised personal interests over national matters by not attending the session. He remarked that it would have been better had the opposition participated, adding that the government had extended the invitation in good faith.
Sources said JUI’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman emphasised dialogue as the way forward in addressing issues relating to Pakistan-Afghanistan ties and tensions in the Middle East. Other members proposed convening a special session of parliament to deliberate on the matter. The prime minister agreed to implement the proposal and decided that a debate would be held in parliament.
Participants appreciated Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting peace in the region and stressed the need for national unity, cohesion and consensus in the current circumstances. They also reaffirmed their strong resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country.
The attendees welcomed the prime minister’s initiative to take all political leadership into confidence in the broader national interest and expressed their gratitude for convening the high-level consultation.
The meeting was attended by Senate Chairman Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Chairman Senate Syedal Khan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Ishaq Dar, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Azam Nazir Tarar, Attaullah Tarar, Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Istiqam Pakistan Party leader Abdul Aleem Khan, Balochistan Awami Party’s (BAP) Khalid Hussain Magsi, Balochistan Awami Party’s Anwarul Haq Kakar and Manzoor Ahmed Kakar, Mutada Qaumi Movement-Pakistan’s (MQM-P) Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Dr Farooq Sattar, Faisal Sabzwari, Aminul Haq and Syed Mustafa Kamal, PML-Q’s Chaudhry Salik Hussain, Advisor to the Prime Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan, Special Assistant Talha Burki, Senators Sherry Rehman (Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians), Pakistan Muslim League-N’s Pervaiz Rashid, Hafiz Abdul Karim, National Party’s Jan Muhammad and Pauline Baloch, and Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian’s (PPPP) Syed Naveed Qamar.
On Tuesday, the PTI had refused to attend the briefing, saying there would be no cooperation with the government until and unless the family members, lawyers as well as party leaders were allowed to meet former prime minister and PTI founder Imran Khan and he was provided treatment at Al-Shifa Hospital, Islamabad.
Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Mehmood Khan Achakzai conveyed the response from the PTI’s political committee to the PML-N’s Rana Sanaullah and Tariq Fazl Chaudhry who had gone to invite the opposition party to the meeting.
