By Special Correspondent
ISLAMABAD: The military top brass will brief members of the lower house of the parliament on the security situation in the country during an in-camera sitting of the national assembly today (Friday) as lawmakers from the erstwhile FATA/tribal districts of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa forcefully opposed the government’s decision to start a fresh military operation, vowing to “resist” such an action in the region.
Speaker National Assembly Raja Pervaiz Ashraf was the first to make an announcement in this regard and later PM Shehbaz Sharif on the floor of the house, after three legislators from the treasury benches protested last week’s National Security Committee and cabinet decision to launch a military operation against militants in areas bordering Afghanistan. “Your apprehensions are genuine. You will be heard, responded to with seriousness and [you] will be satisfied. Tomorrow (Friday), the NA will be given an in-camera briefing and the members put ask questions. There will be a healthy interaction,” said the prime minister on Thursday.
Defence Minister and PML-N senior leader Khawaja Asif had already endorsed the viewpoints expressed by these MNAs and agreed those who had facilitated these militants’ rehabilitation in the tribal areas “should be held accountable”. The minister claimed that these elements were now supporting Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and were present in the Zaman Park, the Lahore residence of PTI chief Imran Khan. He held two former military dictators — Gen Pervez Musharraf and Gen Ziaul Haq — responsible for bringing terrorism to the country due to the faulty Afghan policies.
First interaction since November
Today’s will be the first direct interaction between the new military leadership, that took the charge in November 2022 and the parliamentarians. According to MNA Ali Wazir from South Waziristan, they would not allow any military operation in the area without “trial and conviction of those retired and serving army generals” who had helped these terrorists resettle in these areas. Wazir, who spent most of the time behind bars allegedly for to his anti-establishment actions and speeches, recalled that he had raised the issue with Shehbaz Sharif when he was brought from Karachi to attend the then opposition parties’ meetings in Islamabad at the time of no-confidence motion against then PM Imran Khan. Mr Sharif, he claimed, in the presence of the other allies had assured him that he had “already talked to them” because the Muhajirs and Baloch were also facing the same issues.
Meanwhile, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani has protested the exclusion of senators from the Friday’s security briefing as “inappropriate”. In a statement, he condemned the decision, adding “this step-motherly treatment of the Senate on matters of national importance is not acceptable”.
