Prime
Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chaired a meeting of the National
Security
Committee today in Islamabad. The
meeting was attended by Prof. Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Interior, Khawaja
Muhammad Asif, Minister for Foreign Affairs, General Zubair Mahmood Hayat,
Chairman JCSC, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of the Army Staff, Admiral
Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, Chief of the Naval Staff, Air Chief Marshall Sohail Aman,
Chief of the Air Staff, and senior civil and military officials. The National
Security Committee condemned the recent attacks on the Pakistan Army post at
Bajaur Agency and police officials in Quetta, and expressed deep concern over
the now increasingly exposed activities of hostile intelligence agencies to
destabilise Pakistan.
The Foreign Secretary briefed the
meeting on the latest developments in the regional security situation with a
focus on the events rapidly unfolding in the Middle East. After detailed
discussion, the meeting
unanimously agreed that it was of critical importance for Pakistan to play a
proactive role in the best interest of the Muslim Ummah, while firmly adhering
to its bilateral commitments.
The Committee reviewed the security
situation in Balochistan and appreciated the significant improvement brought
through the tireless work by the Armed Forces and law enforcement agencies. The
Committee affirmed that the thrust of Federal Government policy shall be to
collaborate more deeply with the Government of Balochistan for the rapid
socioeconomic development of the province. The meeting also developed a
consensus on providing increased development resources to the province and
adopting a cooperative implementation mechanism for development projects to
ensure greater efficiency and transparency so that the benefits of increased
development funding flow directly to the Baloch people at the very grassroots
level. The Committee was apprised that concrete measures are being undertaken
to improve border management to deny movement of miscreants and criminals into
Balochistan. The Committee was also informed that the Federal Government was
following a policy of allocating amongst its best civil servants to Balochistan
to improve the administrative efficiency in the province. While reviewing the
progress made with respect to Pakistan’s commitment under the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) framework, the Committee observed that Pakistan needed to
convey its position and achievements comprehensively and clearly to the FATF.
The Committee also reviewed the
status of regional gas and oil pipelines under consideration from the
perspective of strengthening Pakistan’s energy security, and it was agreed that
Pakistan should take advantage of the opportunities available where they are in
Pakistan’s best economic and national interest.
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