Parliamentary leaders stress unity amid global turmoil

Islamabad: Parliamentary party leaders and representatives, in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday, emphasised the need for national unity and solidarity in the current challenging situation.

Participants were given an in-camera briefing on the Pakistan–Afghanistan situation, developments concerning Iran, ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Gulf region, and Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts.

During the meeting, the parliamentary leaders of the political parties expressed their views openly.

They appreciated Pakistan’s diplomatic initiatives for regional peace and stressed the need to further strengthen these efforts. Leaders also presented suggestions on the country’s future course of action.

All participants reaffirmed their strong resolve to eliminate terrorism from the country.

They also appreciated the prime minister’s initiative of taking all the political leadership into confidence in the broader national interests and thanked him.

Meanwhile, the US-Israeli campaign against Iran entered its fifth day following the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Lebanese state media reported on Wednesday that the Israeli army entered the southern Lebanese town of Khiam, about six kilometres from the Lebanon-Israel border. “The town of Khiam is under continuous artillery shelling, while the Israeli army has penetrated into the town,” the report said.

A Lebanese military source told AFP on Tuesday that Israel had launched a ground incursion into a border area in southern Lebanon, alongside ongoing airstrikes.