PPP calls for joint sitting of parliament on Afghanistan

The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has demanded for a joint session of the parliament on the Afghanistan situation and its possible fall out on Pakistan after videos of Afghan Taliban have appeared on social media, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

PPP’s Nayyar Bukhari said that reports of staff vacating various embassies from Afghanistan and Ashraf Ghani's own family relocating from the country appeared and if this is the case, then the situation could take a very serious turn in Afghanistan.

The PPP leader demanded a joint sitting of the parliament that should be convened to inform the latest situation regarding the Taliban.

Nayyar Bukhari said that all stakeholders have to play their role in the Afghanistan issue because stability in the region is not possible without peace in Afghanistan.

The PPP Senator said that national unity and solidarity is essential and a permanent and sustainable policy plus strategy is necessary to meet the challenges facing Afghanistan. “Peace in Pakistan is conditional to the peace in Afghanistan,” Nayyar Bukhari added.

Earlier, an in-camera meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security took place at the Parliament House and lasted eight hours.

The meeting was chaired by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and involved a briefing by Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and the Director-General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Major General Babar Iftikhar were also in attendance.

Among government representatives, Minister for Interior Shaikh Rasheed, Minister for Housing Tariq Bashir Cheema, Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi, and Leader of the House in the Senate Dr Shahzad Waseem and large number of MNS from all parliamentary parties attended the meeting.