In response to government’s “dictatorial” behaviour, opposition parties have chosen to boycott the forthcoming in-camera briefing of the national security committee, which is scheduled to take place on December 6.
Parliament’s united opposition stated in a press release that parties affiliated with the anti-government Pakistan Democratic Movement have always treated issues involving the constitution, law, national security, and the general public with seriousness and importance, as evidenced by their participation in the anti-government alliance.
Although the prime minister was not there, the media release said that not only did the Opposition parties and their leaders attend briefings on these concerns, but they also gave proposals to resolve the problems.
Following the administration’s authoritarian approach and recent effort to bulldoze critical laws through Parliament, the Opposition indicated it will skip the in-camera briefing session to express its displeasure with the government.
Attending the in-camera briefing session, the group said, would enable the administration in staging another drama that had nothing to do with the vital concerns affecting the nation at large.
The National Security Committee of the House of Commons will convene on December 6.
In a previous meeting, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had convened a meeting of the national security committee on December 6 to address key problems pertaining to the country, which was later cancelled.
National Security Advisor Moeed Yusuf will address MPs on national security and other subjects during the meeting.
In addition to Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, opposition leader in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, opposition leader in the Senate Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, Leader of the House in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem, Maulana Assad Mehmood of the JUI-F, Chaudhry Tariq Bashir Cheema of the PML-Q.
Special invitees will include federal ministers such as Defense Minister Pervez Khattak, Shafqat Mehmood, Ali Amin Gandapur, Asad Umar, Syed Fakhar Imam, Hammad Azhar, Dr Shireen Mazari, and Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan, as well as secretaries from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Defense, Finance, Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit Baltistan, and National Security.
The most recent meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) took place on November 8, during which the parliamentary leaders were updated on the progress of the government-TTP negotiations.
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