ISLAMABAD - Defence Committee of the Cabinet meeting held here under the chair of Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz Sharif to devise strategy for speedy implementation on the decisions taken in the Cabinet's Committee on National Security the other day.
The meeting was attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan‚ Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Raheel Sharif‚ Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC) Rashid Mehmood and PM Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi.
The committee also discussed at length the statement of Tehreek-I-Taliban Pakistan Chief Mulla Fazlullah wherein he had ruled out negotiations with government and it was decided not to come up with immediate reaction to it and adopt the policy of wait and see.
Sources in the government however, confided to The Nation that some participants of the meeting were of the view that government should come up with strong-worded response to what they termed the irrational statement coming from TTP leader.
It was also the consensus view of the meeting that the talks offer by the government should not be taken as the weakness on part of the government and if need be appropriate action would be taken to establish the writ of the government in troubled areas.
The meeting also reviewed the regional security situation and observed that Pakistan is a responsible, democratic state and committed to safeguarding its national interests and fulfilling its international obligations.
The meeting once again condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and expressed its resolve to take all appropriate measures to curb it.
The Committee was of the view that security and stability of South Asia is in the fundamental interests of the people of this region.