Govt invites parliamentarians to in-camera briefing on regional situation

The government has invited parliamentarians to an in-camera briefing on the regional situation scheduled for Wednesday, according to Law Minister Azan Nazeer Tarar.

Speaking in the National Assembly on Tuesday, the minister said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had invited parliamentary leaders and party heads to “sit down and develop a course of action so we can move forward”.

“There are sensitivities we have to take into account and things that you can not discuss openly, considering the tension in the region and our relations with brotherly Muslim countries,” the minister said.

He said that while Pakistan shared friendly relations with Iran, “we also have long-standing relations with other countries”.

“In particular, Saudi Arabia, with whom we are in a defence agreement,” the minister said.

“I am requesting both sides of the aisle that this is a sensitive situation and we must sit together for Pakistan and for the security of the wider region,” he said.

He further said that Prime Minister’s Adviser on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah was giving “person-to-person invitations”. He further said that the briefing would be in-camera and would be scheduled for 11:30am.

“The future strategy; what you suggest and what you decide, will be taken into account,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had also spoken about the in-camera briefing while addressing the Senate.

“We have planned that the parliamentary leaders of both houses, including the honourable leaders of the opposition in the Senate and in the National Assembly, will meet at 11:30am tomorrow for a detailed briefing,” he said.

He said the briefing was expected to “touch upon” the situation in Afghanistan as well.