Pakistan holds high-level briefing for parties amid India standoff
Islamabad: The civil and military leadership of Pakistan has briefed the country’s political parties on tensions with India in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack.
All political parties, barring former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf party, attended the in-camera briefing Sunday, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The political leaders vowed a robust response if India resorted to any “misadventure”, the paper quoted a source privy to the briefing as saying.
The briefing was given by Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Lt-Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry and Information Minister Attaullah Tarar.
The source said that the political parties were of the view that they stood by the armed forces to foil any attempt by India to spoil regional peace.
Before the briefing, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said the main objective of the huddle was to get feedback from the political forces in light of tensions with India.
The participants were also apprised of the preparedness of the armed forces to foil any misadventure by India, the report said.
Pakistan People Party (PPP) leaders Raja Pervez Ashraf, Qamar Zaman Kaira, and Shazia Marri; PML-N’s Barrister Aqeel and Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Tallal Chaudhry; PM’s aide Pervez Khattak; MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar; and Kashmiri leader Shah Ghulam Qadir, among others, attended the meeting.
Ties between the two neighbouring countries plummeted following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people, mostly tourists.
India announced a raft of punitive measures against Pakistan, including the suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty, the shutdown of the only operational land border crossing at Attari and the downgrading of diplomatic ties following the terror attack.
India Saturday imposed a ban on the import of goods coming from or transiting through Pakistan and also the entry of Pakistani ships into its ports, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country is committed to taking “firm and decisive” action against terrorists and their backers.
PM Modi also told the top defence brass that the armed forces have “complete operational freedom” to decide on the mode, targets and timing of India’s response to the attack.
Pakistan late Saturday ordered that any Indian flag carriers will not be allowed to visit any Pakistani port and also barred Pakistani ships from docking at any Indian port.
PTI
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