ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif yesterday condemned the ‘naked aggression’ by India and summoned a cabinet meeting for today (September 30) to discuss the future line of action amid the rising tensions with India.

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif made a telephone call and briefed the Prime Minister about Indian unprovoked firing. Both the leaders discussed the overall situation and Pakistan’s response.

National Security Adviser General Nasir Janjua submitted a comprehensive report on the current LoC situation.

The prime minister expressed satisfaction on the level of preparedness of the Pakistani armed forces to match any provocation by Indian army.

Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan also met with the prime minister and discussed the current security situation with him at length.

Sources said that in today’s cabinet meeting, officials from the foreign, interior and defence ministries will brief the prime minister over the national security.

“The PM has convened cabinet meeting on Friday. The PM has directed that Agenda item number one of cabinet meeting will be discussion on present Kashmir situation, UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) visit and bilateral meetings of PM in New York. Foreign Secretary will brief the cabinet before the discussion,” said the statement released by the PM’s office.

Besides, Nawaz Sharif will discuss the evolving situation after his UN General Assembly’s visit and constructive bilateral meetings with various world leaders and UN Secretary General to consolidate the gains during the visit.

Officials said the cabinet meeting will also be briefed about border security, army preparations and foreign affairs in view of the postponement of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation conference.

It said a meeting of National Security Committee with special invitation to all the Chief Ministers to deliberate at length the emerging scenario across the LoC and brutal state oppression in held Kashmir will be held on October 4.

And on October 5, a joint session of the parliament will be convened to reaffirm the national resolve for safeguarding the sovereignty and preserving the territorial integrity of the motherland against any kind of external or internal threat as well as reiterating the moral, political and diplomatic support to the people of Kashmir. “The PM will take the nation and parliament into confidence,” added the statement.

In New York this month, besides his formal talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo, the Prime Minister informally met several leaders including UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. He raised the Kashmir issue in all the meetings.

Officials said the PM wanted to assure the nation that India would not be able to strike at will inside Pakistan. “The claims about surgical strikes are false and the LoC violation has been responded befittingly. The PM wants to tell the nation that Pakistan was strong enough to defend itself,” a close aide of the premier said. 

At the meeting with Ch Nisar, PM Sharif said: “No power can deter us from supporting our Kashmiri brethren in their just and legitimate struggle for the exercise of their right to self-determination guaranteed to them by the UN resolutions.”

Nawaz Sharif said Jammu and Kashmir dispute was an unfinished agenda of the partition of the sub-continent. He said no external force had the capability or capacity to challenge the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan.

The Prime Minister said: “We have the best armed forces in the world and we are proud of that and above all, the entire nation is standing behind our valiant forces.”

The PM paid tribute to the soldiers and said that “our intent for peaceful neighbourhood should not be mistaken as our weakness as our valiant forces are fully capable of defending the territorial integrity of country.”

Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif told the National Assembly’s Standing Committee of the Defence that the entire Pakistani nation was proud of its valiant armed forces, which always stood behind the military in an event of a war.

The army chief welcomed members of National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence Production at the military headquarters in Rawalpindi when they visited GHQ.

China, US express concern

China yesterday signalled it was actively engaged in defusing tensions between Pakistan and India, using multiple channels, to prevent a spillover of friction between Islamabad and New Delhi in the region.

“As for the tension between Pakistan and India, recently Chinese side has been in communication with both sides through different channels,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing.

He added: “We hope that Indian and Pakistan can enhance communication and properly deal with differences and work jointly to maintain peace and security of the region.”

The United States has also urged Pakistan and India to resolve their differences through diplomacy. “We have continued to encourage India and Pakistan to find ways to resolve their differences, not through violence, but through diplomacy,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.

Speaking about Pakistan, Earnest said, “We have condemned violence, particularly terrorist attacks.”