Pakistan to play its responsible role for peace in Afghanistan, PCNS told

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will continue to play its responsible role for peace establishment in Afghanistan just like it did in past by positively supporting the Afghan peace process, the military high command briefed the lawmakers during a session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), ARY News reported on Thursday.

The National Assembly (NA) Speaker Asad Qaiser chaired an in-camera session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security today which was attended by the parliamentarians, chief ministers, army chief, DG ISI and some lawmakers who were specially invited.

The PCNS session held discussions over the status of bilateral ties between Pakistan and the United States (US), Pakistan-China relations internal and external matters, national security and the regional developments including the Kashmir dispute and Afghanistan’s situation.

The Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (DG-ISI) Lt Gen Faiz Hameed gave a comprehensive briefing to the participants of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).

It was told that clashes between the Afghan government and Taliban will create a crisis that could lead to the exodus of Afghan refugees to the neighbouring countries, sources told ARY News.

It has been briefed that dialogues held between Afghan factions and warring groups due to the efforts of Pakistan, whereas, a meaningful talks was also initiated between Taliban and the United States (US).

The lawmakers were told that the lasting peace in the neighbouring country will bring stability in the South Asia region and Pakistan will welcome the true representative government of Afghanistan’s people.

According to the information ministry’s statement, the PCNS participants were told that Pakistan’s land is not being used in the conflict going on in Afghanistan and the hope was expressed that Afghanistan’s soil will also not be used against Pakistan.

An effective system was being formulated for customs and border control, whereas, 90 per cent of work for Pakistan-Afghanistan border fencing had been completed.

The parliamentary and political leaders expressed satisfaction at the briefing besides conveying wishes for peace, progress and prosperity in Afghanistan.

It stated that such sessions play important role in building national consensus on national issues. During a question and answer session in the briefing, the participants have also presented their suggestions which would be considered as an important part of Pakistan’s security policy.

The meeting was attended by the federal ministers, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, DG ISI, Director-General Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar, head of national security institutions, chief ministers of all four provinces, opposition lawmakers and others.

Sheikh Rasheed, Fawad Chaudhry, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak, Asad Umar, Shafqat Mahmood, Shireen Mazari, Babar Awan, Ali Muhammad Khan, Malik Amir Dogar, Tariq Bashir Cheema, Shahzad Waseem, Shehbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Sherry Rehman, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif, Khawaja Saad Rafique, Rana Tanveer, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Rana Sanaullah, Maulana Asad Mehmood, Farogh Naseem, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Ameer Haider Khan Hoti, Khalid Magsi, Akhtar Mengal, Ghous Bakhsh Mahar, Nawabzada Shahzain Bugti, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Anwarul Haq Kakar, Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, Faisal Sabzwari, Tahir Bizenjo, Hidayatullah, Muhammad Shafiq, Kamil Agha, Mushtaq Ahmed, Qasim Soori, Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Hina Rabbani Khar, Muzaffar Hussain Shah and Dilawar Khan also participated in the session.