Govt to hold in-camera briefing on national security today without Opposition

The PTI-led government has decided to hold its in-camera briefing of the national security committee by National Security Adviser Moeed Yusuf today (Monday) in the absence of Opposition parties.

The Opposition, on Thursday, had announced a boycott of the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS), citing the government's "dictatorial" behaviour as its reason. But the government urged the Opposition to review their decision and earnestly attend the briefing.

The publication stated that the government has decided to hold the fourth in-camera briefing today at noon, once again extending an invitation to leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif and PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari despite their refusal to attend the meeting.

“The fourth in-camera meeting of the PCNS will be held as per its schedule on Monday, the 6th December, at 12:00 noon in the Committee Room No 2, Parliament House,” read a revised notice of the National Assembly Secretariat.

The revised notice has been issued in continuation of the November 30 notification through which National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser had summoned the national security meeting to discuss the security situation in the country and the region. The NSA is scheduled to give a presentation on the national security policy in the briefing.

Accusing the government of riding roughshod over the Constitution and making Parliament a “rubber stamp”, the joint opposition had announced a boycott of the in-camera briefing slated to be held on December 6.

The opposition was also irked by the ruling party’s act of bulldozing bills during the joint session of Parliament and the conspicuous absence of Prime Minister Imran Khan from the previous sessions of the PCNS.