Parliamentary Committee resolves not to make compromise on dignity

ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Committee on National Security today expressed the resolve not to make any compromise on dignity and honour of the country.

The resolve came during meeting of the committee held in Islamabad today (Thursday) at the Parliament House. The meeting was chaired by Speaker National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif, Defence Minister Khurrum Dastagir, National Security Adviser Nasser Janjua and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khurshid Shah were in attendance.

The meeting was held after a cabinet meeting over the matter on Wednesday. The parliamentarians were taken into confidence over decisions made during the cabinet meeting in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s recent scathing remarks about Pakistan.

Briefing the media after meeting, the speaker said the participants have firmly stressed unity to safeguard interests of the country.

“We want engagement with the United States but with dignity and honour,” the speaker said while talking to media persons.

He said another meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security would be convened soon to chalk out a plan to meet any eventuality.

“The officials of defence institutions will also be invited in the next meeting,” he added.

On Wednesday, the federal cabinet meeting,  chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, endorsed the stance of the National Security Committee (NSC) on the recent statement by United States President Donald Trump.

The cabinet viewed that these statements are detrimental to the bilateral relations between Pakistan and USA- a relationship that has developed over generations.

The cabinet reiterated that Pakistan rendered huge sacrifices, both in terms of loss of precious human lives and substantial damage to the economy. The achievements made by Pakistan in curbing the menace of terrorism have been acknowledged throughout the world, noted the cabinet members.

Moreover, the cabinet maintained that the country would remain committed to playing a constructive role towards an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace process in Afghanistan.