Security briefing: Govt, PMLN lock horns on PM's absence

ISLAMABAD: A new issue cropped up between the PTI-led government and the opposition, as the latter questioned the non-participation of Prime Minister Imran Khan in the in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, terming it sheer non-seriousness and indifference.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Friday termed the briefing a “good starter” and said Prime Minister Imran Khan’s non-participation in the committee meeting had once again proved he prioritised his ego to nation.

Bilawal tweeted that the Parliamentary Committee on National Security was a good start for important engagement on developing situation in Afghanistan and its implications for Pakistan. “Our stance is that the government must implement the 2012 National Security Council resolution,” he demanded.

He also shared a copy of the resolution of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security for year 2012 during the tenure of the PPP. Bilawal also linked his earlier tweet of June 28 in which he welcomed Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser’s decision to convene a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and said he will attend the meeting.

Meantime, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Friday demanded explanation from Prime Minister Imran Khan for not attending the in-camera meeting of the security huddle.

“The prime minister’s non-participation in the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security sends a negative message, as the issue of the national security is above politics,” said the PPP Secretary General Nayyar Hussain Bukhari in a statement.

Bukhari said the seriousness of the prime minister on the issue of Afghanistan could be gauged from his indifference to the meeting. He said the PPP was right to assume by not attending the meeting, the prime minister conveyed that he had nothing to do with foreign and domestic policy.

“Whether it should be considered that only concerned people were invited to the National Security Committee and the prime minister considered himself an irrelevant person?” he inquired.

He said it was very unfortunate that there were more important engagements for the prime minister than the National Security Committee meeting. Bukhari said the opposition parties showed seriousness by attending the meeting.

He said the PPP always sided with the state to ensure national security. “The politics of the container on national security issues does not suit the prime minister,” he said. He said the prime minister himself wanted to create hatred by pushing the opposition against the wall.

Leaping to the prime minister’s defence, Minister for Information Fawad Chaudhry claimed that the premier did not attended the briefing to accommodate the Leader of Opposition Shehbaz Sharif.

"The prime minister was scheduled to attend the national security huddle, but the opposition leader [Shehbaz Sharif] had conveyed to the speaker that if [Prime Minister Imran Khan] came to the briefing, he would not attend," Fawad said during an appearance on Geo News's morning show Geo Pakistan.

Responding to the information minister's comments, PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb said Fawad was lying. “He is a propaganda machine. He blatantly lied about Shehbaz Sharif blocking Imran Khan's participation in the National Security Committee (NSC) meeting.”

The PML-N spokesperson asked how Shehbaz could deny the request when the Speaker had invited him. "Please present any official document from Shehbaz or his office" denying the speaker's request,” she demanded.

"Did Imran Khan leave the National Parliamentary Committee meeting on coronavirus because of Shehbaz?" she asked. Meanwhile, the spokesman for the National Assembly Secretariat Friday said the prime minister was always willing to attend the parliamentary committee meeting and the only reason for his nonparticipation was the reservations conveyed to the Assembly Secretariat by some opposition leaders.

In a statement, the spokesman said reports in the media about non-participation of the prime minister [in the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security] were factually incorrect.

Meanwhile, former prime minister and PMLN leader Shahid Khaqan Abbasi Friday said Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry should know that the prime minister was not a member of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security.

Addressing a news conference here, he said the prime minister had already taken same briefing and agreed to that. He observed that the PM was the Leader of the House, and he could attend meeting of any committee. "I have no objection as to why the prime minister did not come. But his presence could have given a good message," he said.