A session of the National Assembly’s committee on national security has been summoned for a briefing on the latest situation and regional issues amid the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
COAS Gen Bajwa and DG ISI expected to brief the parliamentarians on national security and developments with regards to Afghanistan on July 1 in the Parliament. All govt and opposition leaders invited.
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NA Speaker Asad Qaiser will chair the in-camera meeting convening on July 1 at 3pm. Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Defence Minister Pervaiz Khattak will also be part of the proceedings.
Issues related to national security will be on the agenda. Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto and other lawmakers will also attend.
The meeting will also discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and its impact on Pakistan.
Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, federal ministers and parliamentarians have been specially invited for the briefing.
Pakistan has, on multiple occasions, raised the issue of peaceful settlement of the Afghan imbroglio and has urged all the groups to sit and sort out their differences.
'India playing the Taliban move won’t checkmate Pakistan'
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PM Khan, in his interaction with the US media, pointed out that there’s no military solution and that there’s no favourite for Pakistan.
The violence has increased in the war-torn country since the foreign troops’ withdrawal started.
Read More: PTM’s fake news busted: Pak Army not fighting Afghan Taliban
In a recent interview, National Security Adviser Dr Moeed Yusuf also expressed concern on the current Afghanistan situation, saying that “it is not good”.
No military solution in Afghanistan
The U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Taliban that there is no “military solution” in Afghanistan, as American troops approach a September 11 deadline for complete withdrawal from the country after two decades there. Afghanistan has seen an increasing level of violence in recent months, as the Taliban makes territorial gains.
“To the Taliban, we reiterate that the military path will not lead to legitimacy. As many of us have stated, including my colleagues on this Council from Europe, Russia and China, there is no military solution in Afghanistan. The world would not recognise the establishment in Afghanistan of any government imposed by force, nor the restoration of the Islamic Emirate. There is only one way forward – a negotiated and inclusive political settlement, through an Afghan led and Afghan own process,” Ms. Thomas Greenfield told the U.N Security Council at a virtual meeting on Afghanistan which included External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Afghanistan’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammed Hanfeef Atmar.
According to the latest media reports, the Taliban have intensified activities since the start of the U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan on May 1 and have taken control of numerous districts.
The Taliban, according to its spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, have captured more than 70 districts over the past month and in the latest advancement they have occupied Khash district in the northern Badakhshan province on Wednesday.
Read More: India opens channels with Afghan Taliban: what is the future of India-Taliban relations?
Confirming the fall of Khash district to the Taliban, army officer Abdul Razeq said that the security forces had made “tactical retreat” from Khash to reduce civilian casualties, while Taliban spokesman Mujahid claimed capturing the district by force.
Following the peace deal inked between the United States and Taliban in February 2020, the intra-Afghan dialogue was held in the Qatari capital Doha on Sept. 12 last year but the situation in Afghanistan has not been stable since long.