ISLAMABAD   -  The Spokesman National Assembly Secretariat yesterday clarified that Prime Minister Imran Khan was always willing to attend meeting of the Parliamentary Committee. The National Assembly spokesman, in clarification of a news item in media regarding non-participation of the Prime Minister of Pakistan in the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security, said that Prime Minister Imran Khan was always willing to attend the meeting. 

He further clarified that the only reason for not attending meeting was reservations conveyed to the assembly secretariat by some opposition leaders.

Meanwhile, talking to a private TV channel, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry on Friday revealed reason behind Prime Minister Imran Khan’s absence from the national security briefing by the military leadership at the Parliament House. He said, “The prime minister was scheduled to attend the national security meeting, but Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif conveyed to the NA Speaker that if the PM came to the briefing, he would not attend.”

The previous day, a closed-door meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security was held at the National Assembly that lasted for over eight hours.

Director General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Faiz Hameed had briefed the parliamentarians for over two hours with a focus on Afghanistan and the regional security scenario.

The meeting — jointly chaired by Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani and National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser — was attended by 29 members of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security and 16 other parliamentarians, including federal ministers and parliamentary leaders.

Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yousuf and the four chief ministers had also attended the meeting.

Echoing the talking points from a day earlier, Fawad said the government hopes and prays that there is a peaceful transfer of power in Afghanistan.

“We are pushing for negotiations in Afghanistan,” he said.

“There are three million Afghan nationals in Pakistan — if another three million are pushed in, it will put a lot of pressure on our economy,” he said.

“It won’t be so easy for the Taliban to take over the government,” Chaudhry said on the prospects for peace in the war-torn neighbour. “We want that the Afghan Taliban and the Ghani government negotiate [a way out].”

“We are only concerned when India uses Afghan territories against us,” he added. “[Meanwhile, we will continue to try and mediate between the Afghan Taliban and the Ghani government.”