ISLAMABAD, July 23: The Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) will meet here on Tuesday to discuss the country’s ties with Afghanistan in the wake of Kabul’s latest allegation that Pakistan Army shelled its northeastern border area over the weekend, killing four people.
According to the agenda, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar will give the all-party PCNS headed by Raza Rabbani an in-camera briefing on Afghanistan and related issues.
Afghanistan on Sunday issued a warning to Pakistan that any further cross-border shelling could significantly harm relations between the two countries.
The warning came two days after Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf’s visit to Kabul where he and President Hamid Karzai talked peace.
The Afghan authorities alleged that more than 300 heavy artillery shells and rockets were fired from Pakistan into Dangam district of eastern Kunar province last week, killing four people.
The Pakistan military denied the Afghan allegation.
Also on Sunday, the Afghan foreign ministry summoned Pakistan’s ambassador in Kabul Mohammad Sadiq and lodged protest over the alleged shelling by Pakistani forces.
“Any continuation of such reported shelling against Afghan villages could have a significant negative impact on bilateral relations,” the Afghan foreign ministry said.
President Karzai’s office said the security officials had been instructed “to put into place all due actions necessary”.
The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting shows that the PCNS members will also discuss the “draft recommendations of the committee with reference to the missing persons” in the country.