Afghanistan crisis: PM Imran to chair NSC meeting today

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan will chair a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) on Monday to discuss matters of national security in the wake of the current situation in Afghanistan, ARY News reported on Sunday citing sources.

According to PM Office, the NSC session will start at 3:00 pm here in Islamabad.

The meeting will discuss the current situation in Afghanistan and the security situation in the region.

The meeting will be attended by the services chiefs, intelligence officials and civilian leadership, said sources.

Read More: ASHRAF GHANI RESIGNS AS AFGHAN PRESIDENT, LEAVES COUNTRY: REPORTS

It is pertinent to mention here that the Taliban entered Afghanistan’s capital Kabul on Sunday and said they expected to take power within days.

Taliban fighters were reaching the capital “from all sides,” a senior Afghan interior ministry official told Reuters.

However, there were no reports of fighting.

Ashraf Ghani also reportedly tendered his resignation as the Afghan president and left the country to Tajikistan, ARY News quoted foreign media reports on Sunday.

India media reports said that Ashraf Ghani has resigned as the Afghan president. Moreover, some British media reports also claimed that Ashraf Ghani has departed to Tajikistan after resigning as the Afghan president.

The ease of the Taliban’s advance, despite billions of dollars spent by the United States and others to build up local Afghan government forces, has stunned the world.

Two PIA flights halted at Kabul airport, allowed to fly to Pakistan

Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi while addressing press conference Sunday said Pakistan has always suggested a political settlement over a military solution in Afghanistan and now the world has acknowledged our position.

He said the matter needs to be resolved via talks. To resolve the flare-up by means of talks and political negotiations has been the position Prime Minister Imran Khan has maintained for years now, Shah Mehmood Qureshi said.

It is the watershed moment for the Afghan leadership, said the foreign minister, adding that Pakistan only seeks peace and stability for Afghans.