Islamabad,(Parliament Times): Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday underscored the importance of national unity and cohesion while chairing a high-level meeting of parliamentary leaders and representatives of political parties to discuss the evolving regional security environment.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office Media Wing, participants received an in-camera briefing covering the Pakistan-Afghanistan situation, developments related to Iran, and the broader conflict in the Middle East and Gulf region. The country’s internal security landscape and key strategic developments were also shared with the political leadership.
The prime minister informed attendees about his recent contacts with leaders from the Middle East and outlined Pakistan’s diplomatic engagements during the ongoing regional tensions. Political leaders present at the meeting expressed their views candidly and appreciated Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts aimed at promoting regional peace. They also proposed intensifying such initiatives and offered suggestions regarding the future course of action.
All participants reaffirmed their collective commitment to eliminating terrorism from the country. They welcomed the prime minister’s decision to take political stakeholders into confidence on matters of national importance and thanked him for the consultative approach.
Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar said a proposal had been floated to convene a joint sitting of parliament to deliberate on the situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East. He added that the prime minister and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar may jointly brief lawmakers from both treasury and opposition benches on international developments and Pakistan’s diplomatic stance.
Among those attending the meeting were National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, Deputy Speaker Ghulam Mustafa Shah, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party, and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F chief Fazlur Rehman. Federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal and Attaullah Tarar also participated in the session.
The regional tensions intensified following US and Israeli strikes on Iran, which reportedly resulted in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, among other senior officials.
Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to confront cross-border security threats emanating from Afghanistan. The armed forces are carrying out ground and aerial actions under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq, targeting Afghan Taliban elements and Fitna al-Khawarij militants involved in attacks along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. The operation was launched on February 27 in response to what officials described as unprovoked aggression by Afghan Taliban