Parliamentary body to be briefed on Afghanistan, national security

ISLAMABAD: The security team of the establishment will brief the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on developments with regard to Afghanistan and matters of national security on Thursday (July 1) at the Parliament House.

*Highly placed sources told The News here on Sunday that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javaid Bajwa, DG ISI Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed and other high officials will attend the session.*

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Leader of the Opposition in the Senate Senator Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, JUI-F Parliamentary leader Maulana Asad Mahmood, BNP leader Sardar Muhammad Akhtar Mengal and ANP leader Ameer Haider Azam Khan Hoti, are among the members invited for the meeting. The slated meeting which has conspicuous significance in the backdrop of the situation prevailing in the war-torn country from where foreign occupying troops are vacating the country in a couple of weeks and the Taliban are increasingly capturing the vacated areas that will have an impact on Pakistan.

Afghan President Dr. Ashraf Ghani and Dr. Abdullah Abdullah have dashed to Washington for discussion with the US authorities pertaining to the upcoming situation and seeking their support for their administration, are also extremely perturbed about the affairs in their country.

The Thursday briefing will be in closed doors and 29-member committee will get an opportunity to avail a question-answer session, the sources said. It would be first meeting of the committee in about eight months as the last meeting in November last was boycotted by the opposition.

The sources said that the opposition leaders will mull over tomorrow (Tuesday) whether to attend the briefing or not. It is unlikely that Prime Minister Imran Khan would turn up for the meeting since he isn't a member of the committee constituted by the NA Speaker. Other members of the committee are Ms. Sherry Rehman (PPP), Mushtaq Ahmad (JI), Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah (GDA), Syed Faisal Ali Sabazwari (MQM), Senator Hidayat ullah (Ind), Sardar Muhammad Shafiq Tarin (PkMAP), Muhammad Tahir Bizenjo (NP), Muhammad Qasim (BNP), Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haidri (JUI), Kamil Ali Agha (PML-Q), Dr. Shehzad Wasim (PTI), Dilawar Khan (Ind), Azam Nazir Tarrar (PML-N) and Anwar ul Haq Kakar (Ind) members from Senate while the other members from the NA are Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi (PTI), Chaudhary Tariq Bashir Cheema (PML-Q), Ghaus Bux Mehar (GDA), Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiquee (MQM), Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti (JWP), Khalid Hussain Magsi (BAP), Sheikh Rashid Ahmad (AML). Speaker Asad Qaisar is chairman of the committee. PTM MNA Mohsin Dawar is among special invitees. The sources pointed out that the parliamentary committee will also discuss some other subjects of national interest if it takes place according to the schedule