Islamabad, Mar 17: The Pakistan government has convened an in-camera meeting of a high-level parliamentary security panel on Tuesday where the top military leadership would brief lawmakers on the prevailing situation, amid a surge in the terror attacks in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has asked National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq to convene the security meeting at Parliament House on Tuesday at 1:30 pm, it emerged on Monday.
The military leadership will provide a comprehensive briefing to the Parliamentary Committee on National Security on the prevailing security situation, according to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The development comes in the wake of a series of deadly terror attacks in the two provinces, which share a border with neighbouring Afghanistan.
Citing a source in the National Assembly, Dawn newspaper reported that since no parliamentary committee on security was formed, therefore, members of the Standing Committees on Defence and Foreign Affairs from the National Assembly, federal cabinet members, chief ministers of the four provinces and leaders of all parliamentary parties or their representatives will attend the closed-door session.
Prime Minister Sharif and Army Chief Gen Asim Munir will join the briefing.
Meanwhile, the government is said to be planning a massive operation against the BLA and other terror groups, involved in growing terror attacks in the province, the paper reported.
One of the Prime Minister’s aides, Rana Ahsan Afzal, said the government will soon convene a Multi-Party Conference (MPC) to discuss the security situation.
He also revealed plans to carry out a massive operation against terrorists in Balochistan but did not offer any details.
The security situation seems volatile in the two provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan where terrorists belonging to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) have repeatedly attacked the security personnel and civilians.
On Sunday, five people, including three security personnel, were killed and 30 others injured when a paramilitary convoy was attacked by BLA militants in Noshki district of Balochistan.
Last week, the BLA militants ambushed a train carrying 440 passengers in the same province and killed 21 passengers and four paramilitary soldiers. The army eliminated all 33 terrorists and rescued passengers.
On Sunday, three security personnel were killed in five separate terrorist attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces accounted for over 96 per cent of terrorist attacks and deaths in Pakistan in 2024.
The militants also this month attacked Bannu Cantonment in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where 16 terrorists were killed and five soldiers died. Also, renowned cleric Maulana Hamidul Haq Haqqani was killed with five other people in a suicide attack at his seminary in Nowshera district of KP.
Pakistan has repeatedly blamed Afghanistan for the surge in terrorist attacks, allegations that Kabul has denied.
As if to put pressure on the Afghan government, Pakistan set March 31 as the deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to leave the country or face deportation.
In a related development, Pakistan turned down a request by the Afghan Taliban to grant an extension in the stay of Afghan refugees, reported The Express Tribune.
Official sources told The Express Tribune on Sunday that the Pakistani decision was final and there would be no relaxation. Sources said relevant authorities and all four provinces have been given instructions to make appropriate arrangements for the return of Afghan refugees.
Over 800,000 Afghans living in Pakistan illegally have been repatriated to their country since Pakistan launched the campaign in November 2023. Pakistan, however, had spared those who were registered with the UNHCR or had the ACC.
There are around three million Afghans still residing in Pakistan. The Afghan government recently raised concerns about the forced deportation of their nationals and alleged that mistreatment was being meted out to them. Pakistan, however, denied those charges.
The move to expel all Afghan refugees may impact the security situation in Pakistan as the Afghan side in retaliation may stop cooperation on the issue of militancy. (PTI)
