RAWALPINDI: The civil and military leadership discussed issues relating to national security at a meeting at the General Headquarters on Tuesday.
Federal ministers Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Ishaq Dar, Adviser to Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi and Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chaudhry also attended the meeting.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistan Army, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General Lieutenant General Rizwan Akhtar and other senior military officials attended the meeting.
The participants of the meeting dwelt at length on issues related to external and internal security, including China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It was noted with satisfaction that successes of the Operation Zarb-e-Azb had been phenomenal and it was agreed “our achievements in bringing stability in the country will have to be sustained whatever it takes”.
The meeting also took cognizance of the ongoing regional developments and inimical designs against the country’s stability and prosperity.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to enduring regional peace, it was underlined that hostile intelligence agencies and their facilitators would not be allowed to foment trouble inside Pakistan.
The meeting expressed its concern about the May 21 US drone strike, saying it was a clear violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty. It affected mutual trust and undermined the spirit of Afghan peace process under the mutually agreed quadrilateral framework.
The leadership resolved to protect the core national interests and effectively counter any negative outside influence.
The meeting comes as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is recovering from open-heart surgery in London. Nawaz was discharged from the hospital on Monday after a weeklong stay following his surgery. He will be overseeing the affairs of the government from London, according to Prime Minister’s House Media Cell, and is expected to return to Pakistan before the end of Ramazan.
Earlier, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Sun Weidong called on the army chief at the GHQ. “During the meeting, matters of mutual interest, including regional security and CPEC came under discussion,” the ISPR said. “The [Chinese] ambassador appreciated Pakistan Army’s achievements and sacrifices for peace and stability in the region.”
