An in-camera sitting of the National Assembly (NA) on the security situation prevailing in the country was held on Friday, following which Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who was among the attendees, said while speaking to the media that the session centred on national security.

The top military leadership gave a briefing during the session, which was chaired by NA Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf.

According to a National Assembly Secretariat notice, the agenda of the meeting was “riefing on current issues of the National Security”. In it, an invitation was extended to all the federal ministers, advisers to the prime minister, MNAs, and special invitees.

Bilawal reached the Parliament House alongside former president Asif Zardari to attend the in-camera security brief but the latter left the session midway.

When a reporter asked Zardari on his way out whether talks were now possible with PTI chief Imran Khan, he said journalist Hamid Mir would be interviewing him later today and he was keeping his answers reserved for that.

Session follows NSC moot

The announcement of the briefing was first made by Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf and later by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the floor of the house a day earlier after three lawmakers from the treasury benches protested last week’s cabinet and National Security Committee’s decision to launch a military operation against militants in areas bordering Afghanistan.

Last week, the top civil and military leadership reaffirmed their commitment to thwart terrorism threats and vowed to relaunch the National Action Plan (NAP) within 15 days to crush militants reportedly coming in from Afghanistan.

A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office had said that the NSC meeting was in continuation of a previous meeting that was convened after a terrorist attack at Peshawar Police Lines.

“The meeting agreed to launch an all-out comprehensive operation with [the participation of] entire nation and government to rid the country of the menace of terrorism with renewed vigour and determination,” the press release had said.

It had added that the operation to eliminate the scourge of terrorism in all its forms from Pakistan would incorporate measures at political, diplomatic security, economic and social levels.

Political parties, including allies of the federal government, however, have expressed their concerns over the possible military offensive against militants, with most saying that those who brought back the militants should be brought to justice before launching an offensive against militants.

Over the past few months, the law and order situation in the country has worsened, with terrorist groups executing attacks with near impunity across the country.

Since the talks with the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down in November last year, the militant group intensified its attacks, particularly targeting the police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and areas bordering Afghanistan. Insurgents in Balochistan have also stepped up their violent activities and formalised a nexus with the TTP.

According to statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, an Islamabad-based think-tank, January 2023 remained one of the deadliest months since July 2018, as 134 people lost their lives — a 139 per cent spike — and 254 received injuries in at least 44 militant attacks across the country.