The sixteenth
meeting of the National Security Committee was chaired by Prime Minister Mr.
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi today in Islamabad. Prof Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for
Interior, Lt. General (Retd.) Nasser Khan Janjua, National Security Advisor,
General Zubair Mehmood 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 attended the meeting.
The National
Security Committee condemned the terrorist attack on the Bethel Memorial
Methodist Church in Quetta on Sunday, terming it to
be against the fundamental tenets of peace and tolerance taught by Islam.
The Foreign
Secretary briefed the meeting on the OIC Extraordinary Summit and Council of
Foreign Ministers Meetings on Al Quds Al-Sharif held in Istanbul on 13th
December 2017, following the decisions taken by the Trump Administration to
recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and its announcement to shift US
Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Observing that these two decisions had
created an incomprehensible situation not just for the Muslim Ummah but also
for the international community in general, the Committee emphasized that the
establishment of a sovereign Palestinian State remained a major objective of
the Muslim Ummah, that Pakistan cannot accept the unilateral decisions taken by
the Trump Administration, and that it would continue to impress upon the United
States its moral and political responsibility towards a just and fair
resolution of the issue, and the need to revoke the steps taken.
The National
Security Committee also reviewed the rapidly evolving security situation in the
Middle East as well as the latest developments in Pakistan’s relations with the
GCC States and Iran. After thorough analysis, the meeting reaffirmed that
Pakistan would continue to work for the unity and solidarity of the Muslim
Ummah, for which it shall intensify its efforts in view of the growing
challenges.
The Secretary
Interior apprised the Committee of the progress made in each of the twenty
areas of the National Action Plan (NAP). The Committee observed that while fair
progress had been made in the implementation of the NAP, certain areas, such as
policy and institutional reform, needed more commitment and attention.
The Committee
also observed that as a responsible member of the International community,
Pakistan would continue to fulfill its obligations under the Financial Action
Task Force (FATF) framework, which would be shared in due course with the
FATF.
Finally, the
National Security Committee tasked the National Security Advisor to finalise
the National Security Policy at the earliest after taking all stakeholders on
board.
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