PM Abbasi convenes National Security Committee meeting today

ISLAMABAD - A high-profile meeting of the National Security Committee has been convened by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Saturday (today).

According to media reports, the meeting will be held at PM House in Islamabad and would be attended by Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Zubair Mahmood Hayat and the chiefs of Armed Forces, among others.

Reportedly, matters pertaining to national and regional security as well as the border situation would be brought under discussion at the meeting, though officially no agenda has been brought to light uptill now.

NSC Meeting After Mumbai Attacks Statement

Today's meeting of NSC is the second one in the ongoing week; the first one was convened on Monday over the controversial statement regarding the Mumbai Attacks.

The meeting was called after former premier Nawaz Sharif gave an interview to a leading daily and decried the slow pace of interrogation in the Mumbai Attacks case.

“Militant organisations are active. Call them non-state actors, should we allow them to cross the border and kill 150 people in Mumbai? Explain it to me. Why can’t we complete the trial?” Sharif had asked in the interview, sending shock waves across the country.

According to a communique issued after the NSC meeting, the statement carried in daily Dawn on may 12th was inaccurate and misleading.

The senior civil-military officials also agreed that India denied access to the principal accused, Ajmal Qasab, and his extraordinarily hurried execution became the core impediment in the finalisation of the trial.

The National Security Committee also resolved that Pakistan shall continue to play its due role in fighting the war against terrorism on all fronts.

Nawaz Sharif Rejects NSC Statement

A day after the press release was issued by the top civil-military guns, former premier Nawaz Sharif rejected the statement and stood his ground over his remarks.

Sharif termed the NSC response as worrisome and frightening, adding that it was based on the misunderstanding and lack of facts.

The world has abandoned Pakistan as there is no any country standing along it, Sharif lamented, adding, “We [Pakistan] are isolated internationally”. He reiterated his demand of forming a commission to probe his remarks.