ISLAMABAD: A special corps commanders conference that reportedly lasted around seven hours was held at the military’s General Headquarters (GHQ) on Tuesday.

Chaired by Chief of the Army Staff Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, the huddle reviewed the security challenges facing the country, as well as the preparedness of the armed forces to deal with any situation that may develop.

Sources told Dawn that the forum considered the continuing unprovoked ceasefire violations committed by India on both the Line of Control (LoC) and the Working Boundary, as well as the irresponsible statements emanating from New Delhi.

But in a rare move, the army’s PR wing Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) did not issue any official statement following the marathon special meeting of top military commanders.

The ISPR usually issues a brief statement outlining the crux of the discussion, but the lack of an official account of the huddle triggered all sorts of rumours about what transpired behind closed doors on Tuesday.

This echoed what happened a day earlier, as there was no official announcement from the ISPR regarding the meeting.

ISPR Director General Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor did not to respond to queries about what was discussed in the meeting and whether the corps commanders talked about the prevailing political situation in the country.

The meeting took place a day after former prime minister Nawaz Sharif appeared before an accountability court in connection with the corruption references filed against him on the orders of the Supreme Court.

On that day, ministers, PML-N leaders and supporters were barred from entering the judicial complex by Rangers personnel, who inexplicably took over security of the courts from the police, even though their deployment had not been requisitioned by the relevant authorities.

The army chief is believed to have taken the corps commanders into confidence about his recent visit to Afghanistan and his interaction with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani.

Published in Dawn, October 4th, 2017