Top civil, military officials resolve to protect core national interests. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD: A huddle of senior civil and military officials vowed on Monday not to allow ‘hostile intelligence agencies’ to foment trouble in Pakistan.
The meeting held at the GHQ was attended by Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Premier’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs Tariq Fatemi, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry, army chief General Raheel Sharif and DG ISI Lt Gen Rizwan Akhtar.
The meeting dwelt at length on various issues related to the country’s external and internal security situation, including the multibillion-dollar China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
The pledge came a day after Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said the government was aware of the conspiracies hatched by some countries against CPEC. But he vowed that “no power in the world can sabotage this project” which has been dubbed ‘game changer’ for the region.
Tuesday’s meeting also took cognizance of the ongoing regional developments and inimical designs against Pakistan’s stability and prosperity, added the military’s media wing.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to enduring regional peace, the meeting underlined that hostile intelligence agencies and their facilitators would not be allowed to foment trouble in Pakistan.
In March, Pakistani forces arrested a former Indian navy officer, who admitted in a subsequent video confession that he had been working for the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s premier intelligence agency, to support a separatist insurgency in the troubled Balochistan province. Kulbushan Jadhav was arrested when he was trying to enter Pakistan from Iran.
Security officials believe RAW is increasingly involved in subversive activities in Balochistan in order to undermine CPEC. Security officials claim that RAW is also using the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghanistan’s top spy agency, to interfere in the internal matters of Pakistan. Only recently, authorities arrested six Afghan spies from Balochistan.
Following the high-level huddle, Chinese Ambassador Sun Weidong also called on the army chief at the GHQ to discuss matters of mutual interest, including regional security and CPEC. He appreciated Pakistan Army’s achievements and sacrifices for peace and stability in the region.
The civil-military huddle was the first since the May 21 US drone strike that killed Afghan Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in Naushki district of Balochistan. Pakistan strongly condemned the attack as violation of its territorial integrity and sovereignty and also called it detrimental to bilateral ties with the US as well as for regional stability.
Tuesday’s meeting expressed its concern over the drone strike saying it was a clear violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty affecting mutual trust, and undermined the spirit of Afghan peace process under the mutually agreed quadrilateral framework.
“The leadership resolved to protect the core national interests and effectively countering any negative outside influence,” the ISPR said.
The meeting noted with satisfaction the phenomenal successes of Operation Zarb-e-Azb and agreed that “our achievements in bringing stability in the country will have to be sustained whatever it takes”.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 8th, 2016.
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