COAS briefs senators on national security
COAS Qamar Jawed Bajwa arrives at Parliament House ahead of briefing. ─ DawnNews
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Jawed Bajwa on Tuesday briefed the Senate Committee of the Whole House on national security during an extraordinary in-camera session presided over by Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani.
Speaking to the media after the briefing, Director General (DG) ISPR Asif Ghafoor said that the Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza "talked about the geo-strategic environment from a security lens, informed the Senators about threats to national security, gave an update on the war on terror and future plan of action."
He said that the briefing went on for an hour and a half, followed by a "very candid, very free, very frank, very objective" question-answer session.
"When we are together, no one can defeat us," DG ISPR said.
However, he refrained from making a detailed comment on the briefing and said that a detailed press conference will be held in the next few days.
'Army intervened in Faizabad issue in national interest'
Following the meeting, Senator Nihal Hashmi told
DawnNews that Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa denied the alleged involvement of the military in the Faizabad sit-in.
"The COAS said he will resign if the army's involvement is proved in Faizabad protests," said Nihal Hashmi.
Meanwhile, sources told
DawnNews that Gen Bajwa briefed the committee that the army played a role in resolving the issue of Faizabad sit-in in the national interest.
The army chief reportedly said that the police operation had pushed the situation from bad to worse as countrywide protests erupted following the action. “Had the army taken any action against the participants of the sit-in, the situation would have worsened,” Gen Bajwa was quoted as saying.
He, however, admitted that the director general of Rangers should not have signed the agreement between the government and participants of the sit-in, sources said.
"It is a matter of honour for me to address an important parliamentary committee," sources quoted the army chief as saying as he began briefing the Senate.
According to sources, the army chief added that trips to certain countries were an important aspect of military diplomacy and that the military was paying close attention to the geostrategic situation in the region.
This is the first time in six years that the military leadership has come to the Parliament House to brief lawmakers on the security situation.
Last time it was in May 2011 when then army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and then ISI chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha had briefed a joint session of parliament about the Abbottabad operation in which Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden had been killed by US forces.