ISLAMABAD: Chief of the Army Staff (COAS), General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has called on Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss the ongoing security situation in the country.
According to sources, the military and civil leadership on Tuesday discussed the internal and external challenges faced by the country, especially countrywide protests by a religious party.
Sources said during the meeting they decided to take severe action against those involved in damaging citizens’ and national properties during the protests. Regional situation and national security issues were also mulled over during the meeting between Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa and PM Imran Khan.
At least two people were killed and several others, including policemen, injured as violence erupted in major cities following the arrest of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) chief Allama Saad Hussain Rizvi.
According to a TLP spokesperson, Rizvi was arrested from the Punjab capital’s Iqbal Town area, where he had gone to attend a funeral. Saad Rizvi is the son of the firebrand cleric, and previous head of the TLP, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, who died in November last year.
Soon after the arrest, the TLP issued a call for countrywide protests. Protesters took to the streets and blocked several roads and motorways across the country. They blocked highways, motorways and train tracks, disrupting life in a better part of the country.
The arrest comes a day after TLP central council had warned the government that it did not expel the French ambassador from the country, they would march on Islamabad from Lahore on April 20. In November last year, the party staged a sit-in in Rawalpindi, which ended after an agreement was reached with the government.
This is the third high-level meet between the two dignitaries this year. The last such meeting took place on March 4, when Prime Minister Khan had invited the Army Chief at the Prime Minister’s Office. Director-General (DG) Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Lt. Gen. Faiz Hamid, also accompanied him.
Prior to this, COAS General Bajwa had met with PM Imran on January 11, to discuss the Machh incident, Afghan peace process, Indian ceasefire violations along Line of Control (LoC) and regional security matters.
