ISLAMABAD – The in-camera session of the Senate Committee of the Whole House, in which the military leadership briefed the Senate on the national security situation, came to an end a little after 3pm on Tuesday.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Qamar Jawed Bajwa, accompanied by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Director General (DG) Naveed Mukhtar, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) DG Maj General Asif Ghafoor and Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza, briefed the lawmakers.
The in-camera briefing went on for around four hours before coming to an end just after 3pm. ISPR DG Ghafoor will brief the media over the meeting while the Senate will issue a statement to the press.
Before the session, Bajwa told the media that he was happy to be at the session.
Parliamentary members were also present while Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani presided over the extraordinary meeting.
Geo-politics
During the briefing, the lawmakers were told that the military is observing the geopolitical situation of the region. “We cannot ignore what’s happening in Afghanistan,” the military leadership was quoted as saying. “Border management is essential for better Pak-Afghan border security.”
According to sources, the army chief said that trips to certain countries were an important aspect of military diplomacy and that the military was paying close attention to the geostrategic situation in the region.
The Senate was told that the army chief’s visits to neighbouring countries had proved to help improve Pakistan’s ties with them.
Military courts
As per the briefing, 274 cases were heard and decided by military courts since their inception in 2015. While 13 terrorists were convicted before Operation Raddul Fasaad, 43 were punished after the operation began. Military courts had stopped handing out verdicts until the extension on March 28.
The lawmakers were also told that since Bajwa was appointed as the army chief, the military courts had received 160 cases.
Rangers operation
According to sources, DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza said that 8,780 suspects have been handed over to the police, 12,105 weapons have been seized and 1,948 terrorists have been apprehended since the launch of the Rangers operation in Karachi in 2013.
He further reportedly said that 154 abductees have been freed from captivity and 154 kidnappers have been apprehended during the operation. Moreover, sources said that 24 soldiers have been martyred since the launch of the operation.
Operation Raddul Fasaad
DGMO Maj Gen Sahir Shamshad Mirza reportedly briefed the lawmakers on the progress of Operation Raddul Fasaad since its launch in February this year.
According to sources, the DGMO told the Senate that 1,249 combing and intelligence-based operations have been conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas since the launch of the operation, adding that 31 major operations have been undertaken in the region.
The DGMO reportedly told the Senate that 13,011 operations have been conducted in Punjab, including seven major operations, whereas 1,410, including 29 major operations, have been undertaken in Balochistan, sources said. The DGMO added that 2,015 operations were conducted in Sindh, including seven major operations.
He further said that 18,001 operations were conducted on the basis of intelligence tip-offs. He added that 4,983 search-based operations were conducted while 19,993 weapons were recovered.