A meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) — the principal decision-making forum on foreign policy and national security — concluded on Friday in Islamabad with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the chair as the country has seen a spate of terrorist attacks.
Senior civilian and military leaders were part of the meeting.
The decision to convene the meeting of the NSC was taken in a meeting between PM Shehbaz and Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir on Thursday, according to a Dawn report.
The meeting between the two took place a day after the corps commanders’ conference at the General Headquarters where the surge in terrorism incidents dominated the agenda.
The military officials will brief the committee on the overall security situation in the country.
Over the past few months, the law and order situation in the country has worsened, with terrorist groups like the outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic State group, and Gul Bahadur Group executing attacks with near impunity across the country.
Insurgents in Balochistan have also stepped up their violent activities and formalised a nexus with the TTP.
The incident at the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa police’s Counter-Terrorism Department interrogation centre in Bannu and the botched suicide bombing attempt in Islamabad not only set off alarm bells in the power corridors but also left several countries worried about the security of their nationals.
The US, UK, Australia and Saudi Arabia have issued advisories, asking their nationals to restrict movements in Pakistan and avoid non-essential trips.
The other issue the NSC will deliberate upon, according to a source quoted by Dawn, is the rise in cross-border attacks from Afghanistan.
December 30,2022
Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1729017/pm-shehbaz-chairs-nsc-meeting-amid-rising-terror-incidents
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