Joint session of Parliament to be held today to discuss Pakistan-India ties
Last updated on: 28 February,2019 09:34 am
The session is scheduled to be held at 3pm in the Parliament House in Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A joint session of the Parliament has been convened on Thursday (today) to discuss the prevailing security situation in Pakistan and a sharp escalation of tensions with long-standing rival India, a day after Pakistan shot down two Indian fighter jets on the Line of Control (LoC).
Reportedly, the session is scheduled to be held at 3pm in the Parliament House where Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan will table the motion to discuss the prevailing external threats.
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Major General Asif Ghafoor, the director general (DG) of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), provided the military’s input to the meeting participants at an in-camera session at the Parliament House.
Meanwhile, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also present in the session.
Qureshi briefed the opposition on the government’s foreign policy strategy and the decisions taken during the National Command Authority (NCA) were also discussed in the meeting.
Besides, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly (NA) Shehbaz Sharif and Pakistan Peoples Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari attended the session along with party delegations.
"A special meeting of parliamentary leaders was convened at Parliament House today to brief national leadership on the ongoing security situation. The parliamentarians were briefed by FM (foreign minister), followed by DG ISPR," read a press statement issued after the session. "COAS also interacted with the forum after the brief."
It said the participants unanimously expressed that they stand united against any aggression against Pakistan and will support the government and its institutions unconditionally.
"They also expressed hope that those who want peace and stability will prevail, as war is not an option but a failure of policy," the statement said. "National leaders of all political parties offered their services for the cause of peace and progress."