PESHAWAR: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has said that it will not attend the crucial in-camera session of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on law and order unless its leaders are allowed to meet incarcerated party founder Imran Khan.
In a statement issued after a late-night meeting, the party’s political committee insisted that its leaders must meet Khan before attending the crucial National Assembly session today. PTI made it clear that its participation in the meeting was contingent on this demand being met.
The development comes after a multi-party opposition alliance, the Tehreek-e-Tahaffuz-e-Ayeen-e-Pakistan (TTAP), led by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, announced that it would not attend the session.
Later, Balochistan National Party-Mengal (BNP-M) chief Sardar Akhtar Mengal also decided to stay away from the meeting. Another opposition leader, Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM) Chairman Allama Raja Nasir Abbas also announced that the opposition parties would not attend the meeting on national security.
PTI's Information Secretary, Sheikh Waqas Akram, confirmed that an emergency meeting of the political committee was held to discuss the party’s stance on the in-camera session. It was unanimously decided that PTI would not attend unless its leaders were granted access to Khan.
However, sources have said that KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur will be attending the in-camera session, sans PTI leaders, and will represent his province which has faced the brunt of terrorist attacks.
Gandapur, the sources added, has been briefed on KP's security situation ahead of the parliamentary huddle.
According to party sources, several core committee members objected to the earlier submission of names for the session on national security. They argued that Chief Whip Aamir Dogar had put forward the list without consulting the party’s political and core committees.
Earlier, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Federal Minister Tariq Fazal Chaudhry had approached the former ruling party, requesting names for the meeting. In response, the party submitted a list of 14 representatives, including Barrister Gohar Khan, Asad Qaiser, Zartaj Gul, Aamir Dogar, Ali Muhammad Khan, Barrister Ali Zafar, and Sahibzada Hamid Raza.
On Monday, Aamir Dogar met with the NA Speaker and insisted that a three-member parliamentary delegation be allowed to meet Imran Khan before the national security session to receive his instructions.
Dogar claimed that the Speaker and other ministers had assured him they would facilitate the meeting, but no progress has been made so far.
The in-camera rare session of parliament is scheduled to take place on Tuesday at 11am wherein military officials will brief the lawmakers on prevailing security situation in the country in the backdrop of recent deadly terror attacks. Prime Minister's aide on Political and Public Affaris Rana Sanaullah said that the civil and military leadership would deliberate on a strategy to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a "proxy" state.
Speaking on Geo News programme 'Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath', the ruling PML-N leader noted that the session will not only focus on convincing Afghanistan to maintain neutrality but also discuss future course of action if Kabul refuses to accept Pakistan's demand to deny militants space to operate on its soil.
The in-camera session comes against the backdrop of rising terrorism in Pakistan, including a major terrorist attack on a passenger train in the Mushqaf area of the Bolan district in Balochistan.
Dozens of militants, affiliated with the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), blew up a railway track and assaulted Jaffar Express on Tuesday, carrying more than 440 passengers — who were taken hostage.
The security forces, after a complex clearance operation, neutralised 33 attackers and rescued the hostage passengers.
Apart from five operational casualties, as many as 26 passengers were martyred by the terrorists, of which 18 were security personnel belonging to the Pakistan Army and the Frontier Corps (FC), three were officials from Pakistan Railways and other departments, and five were civilians.
Speaking to the media following the culmination of the security forces' operation, Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (DG ISPR) Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry revealed that the terrorists were in contact with their handlers in Afghanistan.
Lt-Gen Chaudhry's remarks reflect Islamabad's stance which has time again urged Kabul to prevent its soil from being used by terrorist organisations against Pakistan — something which has been backed by statistics from a recent Global Terrorism Index 2025 report.
During Monday's programme, Sanaullah said that the interim Afghan government provided the terrorists with safe havens, where they train, plan and carry out attacks. "These terrorists receive funds from India," he said, vowing that their safe havens would be eliminated in a few weeks and months.
When asked about Afghanistan's cooperation in countering terrorism, he said that the military leadership is pursuing a multi-dimensional policy and would seek input from civil leadership on how to dissuade Afghanistan from acting as a proxy or becoming a weapon in India's hands.
However, he said that the issue will be resolved one way or another, noting that Afghanistan's refusal to comply does not equate to a dead end. "There are many way-outs at our disposal," he stated.
In response to a question, Sanaullah said that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir and his team, including Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director-General (DG) Asim Malik and others will attend the meeting and one of the team's members would brief the lawmakers.
Furthermore, the PM's aide noted that the military leadership would also receive input from the civil leadership during the meeting. "If anything emerges in the meeting that requires [PML-N President and three-time Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif to play a role, he is fully ready to do so," he added.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, both of which share borders with neighbouring Afghanistan, have faced the brunt of the terrorist attacks — with both provinces accounting for over 96% of terrorist attacks and deaths in Pakistan in 2024 as per a Global Terrorism Index 2025 report.
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