National Security Council meets in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: The National Security Council meeting is in progress in Islamabad on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss the current security situation in the country.
The meeting is being attended by Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Prime Minister’s Advisor on Foreign Affairs and National Security Sartaj Aziz, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, Director-General Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam and Director-General Intelligence Bureau Aftab Sultan.
The meeting is being held a day after the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) announced its decision to not extending the ceasefire and said that the government had failed to respond positively to the militant organisation’s ceasefire of more than 40 days. However, the terror outfit said that it would be willing for to hold meaningful dialogue if the government was ready for serious talks.
The media citing a source familiar with preparations reported that the agenda of the meeting is quite extensive , but discussions on internal security and elections in Afghanistan will dominate the proceedings.
The meeting, which would be discussing the TTP move as well, is also expected to take stock of the Karachi Operation that is now into seventh month.