APC underway to finalise national security policy

ISLAMABAD: The All Parties Conference (APC) is underway here at the Prime Minister House.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that dialogue with the Taliban was Pakistan’s own decision and there had been no foreign intervention.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Sharif said the country was in the grip of terrorism and if all forces did not unite it would be Pakistan's loss.

The prime minister added that steps need to be taken on a war footing, if consensus decisions are taken today, it can solve many problems plaguing the country.

Apprising the attendees of the country's security needs, Army Chief Kayani said civil and military leaders were united. DG ISI Lt. General Zaheer-ul-Islam gave a detailed briefing on the security situaton of the country.

Opposition leader in the National Assembly, Khursheed Shah said all political parties agreed upon the need for security in the country.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan thanked the prime minister for gathering all political parties in one place. He said that after 9/11 Pakistan should have remained neutral when the Afghan Jihad had been declared as terrorism. The PTI chairman added that Pakistan’s stance was changed without consensus and this made the country’s own Jihadi’s its enemies.

According to Khan, sending the armed forces to the tribal areas was a huge mistake. Commenting on US drone strikes, the PTI chairman said there should be a united front on this issue and a strong message should be sent to the US. Khan further said if there was simultaneous use of dialogue and force against militants, this would not be a clever decision.

JUI-F chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman called for a decision to be made based on consensus, adding that in the past there were difficulties in implementation.

Those attending this conference include: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif, Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Khyber Pukhtunkhaw Chief Minister, Pervaiz Khattak, Balochistan Chief Minister, Dr. Abdul Malik, Khyber Pukhtunkhaw Governor Engineer Shaukatullah, Interior Minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, Information Minister, Pervaiz Rashid, Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader, Makhdoom Ameen Fahim, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chief, Imran Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) Chief, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) leader, Farooq Sattar, Pakistan Muslim League-Functional (PML-F) Chief, Pir Sibghatullah Rashdi, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leader Liaquat Baloch, Pukhtunkhaw Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) Chief, Mahmood Khan Achakzai, Awami national Party (ANP) leader Haji Adeel, Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-Mengal) Chief Akhtar Mengal, Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q) Chief Chaudhry Shujaat and the representatives of Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) and FATA.