Political leaders join heads to evolve 'joint response' on Occupied Kashmir, LoC situation
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is chairing the meeting.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Sharif is chairing an important meeting of the Parliamentary leaders in Islamabad today (Monday) to prepare a joint response on Occupied Kashmir and the latest situation along the Line of Control (LoC).
All the political parties in the parliament are attending the meeting giving the message that the entire nation is united when it comes to the defense and integrity of country.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is leading the PPP delegation comprising Opposition Leader Khurshid Shah, Aitezaz Ahsan, Sherry Rehman and Hina Rabbani Khar.
PTI’s Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Shireen Mazari, MQM’s Farooq Sattar, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, ANP leader Ghulam Ahmed Bilour, PkMAP’s Mehmood Achakzai and Hasil Bizenjo are attending the meeting.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will take the political leaders into confidence about prevailing situation at the eastern border in the wake of warmongering statements by India.
PAKISTAN IMPREGNABLE
Pakistan army on Saturday took the rare step of flying international media to the de facto border to make its case in a battle of competing narratives, after India claimed its commandos penetrated up to three kilometres into Pakistan on anti-militant raids.
Pakistan has flatly denied the claim, saying two of its soldiers were killed but only in cross-border fire of the kind that commonly violates a 2003 ceasefire on the LoC.
The helicopter tour took journalists to sectors just two kilometres from the dividing line, and near the locations India said it targeted in assaults on four militant camps.
Mountainous Kashmir is seen as one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints, where Indian and Pakistani soldiers watch one another across valleys divided by barbed wire and land mines.
The bitter neighbours agreed on the de facto border in 1972, but both claim the territory in full. Two of their three wars have been fought over the Himalayan region.
Areas close to the 720 kilometre (450 mile) LoC are normally off-bounds even for Pakistani nationals, and the past three years have seen a surge in cross-border shelling.
Tensions have been simmering for months over unrest on the Indian Occupied Kashmir, where more than 80 civilians have been killed, mostly in clashes with security forces, during protests linked to the killing of a charismatic young separatist in July.
Some Pakistani observers say the vaunted raids are an attempt to shift the focus and allow India to escape scrutiny over its actions in Kashmir.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has offered to mediate in the dispute as the international community urged restraint.
-- with inputs from AFP
