Even though the scenes were not captured by electronic media, this was merely the latest effort to show solidarity in the face of the security challenges that Pakistan is presented with.
The layout of the in-camera session was different from previous such meetings: previously, the National Assembly speaker used to sit among the legislators, but in yesterday's meeting, the speaker occupied the presiding chair. According to Azaz Syed, opposition leader Raja Riaz 'thanked' the army chief that the speaker was sitting on his chair; upon this light-hearted remark, foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari intervened and clarified that it was, in fact, the speaker who made the military commanders sit where they were sitting. Azaz Syed appreciated this intervention and said it was "unfortunate" that prime minister Shehbaz Sharif could not make this clarification on the floor of the house.
Azaz Syed says that the meeting began with a detailed briefing from the DGMO, who gave a multimedia presentation to the parliamentarians on the negotiations that were held with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and the current threat matrix that Pakistan is facing. After this briefing, the floor was opened to questions, at which point army chief Gen Asim Munir addressed the Parliamentary Committee on National Security. According to Azaz Syed, Gen Asim Munir told the parliamentarians that after assuming office, he visited places and met people who told him that the army was supreme. He says that he always responded with, "no, the Parliament and people of Pakistan are supreme". This statement was met with thunderous applause from the legislators assembled.
"Shehbaz Sharif sahib was also present there, and this must have been a feel-good moment for him," Azaz adds.
Azaz also said that the army chief clarified no new operation was going to be launched, and intelligence-based operations (IBOs) would continue in a more effective manner. Azaz Syed also confirmed that Gen Asim Munir criticised the policy of negotiating with TTP in the past. "The negotiations only gave them time to gain strength, and ultimately it harmed Pakistan," the army chief said.
Legislators told Azaz Syed that the army chief quoted Quranic scripture to establish the case that TTP was creating "corruption on earth" or 'fasaad-fil-ard', a juridical concept in Islamic law. Gen Asim Munir also told parliamentarians that Islam does not allow negotiations with such elements, and that these militant groups do not accept Pakistan or the Constitution. "We need to unite the nation on this, and whatever policy the government gives us, we will implement it," the army chief said.
"We are a machine; the button is with the prime minister. When the prime minister presses the button, the machine will start implementing orders," Gen Asim Munir reportedly told the Parliament.
Firebrand politician MNA Ali Wazir, who spent months in incarceration despite being a legislator, challenged the military leaders on their understanding and representation of the "ground realities" along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. MNA Mohsin Dawar demanded that development initiatives should reach fruition in the tribal districts, to which the army chief curtly concurred.
Dawar also mentioned Muslim Khan and Mehmood Khan, two convicted terrorists who had reportedly received clemency from the president. Azaz Syed says the army chief called these two "butchers of Swat", and told the Parliament that when he became the top commander of the Pakistan army and found out they were going to be released, he ordered that they be kept in custody.
Army chief Gen Asim Munir reiterated that, "the Pakistan Army works according to the Constitution of Pakistan, and whichever government is in power, we follow their orders and policies to the best of our capabilities within the ambit of the law".
The top commander of the Pakistan Army was also asked by a legislator that his institution was responsible for creating the 'Naya Pakistan' movement, so would he play a role in ending or rationalising this popular political plaftorm? Gen Asim Munir responded to this by saying, "we no longer talk about naya Pakistan (new Pakistan) or purana Pakistan (old Pakistan), we only talk about hamara Pakistan (our Pakistan)". In Azaz Syed's assessment, this exhibited the army chief's forward-looking approach, and was taken positively by the members of Parliament.
On remarks by the top spymaster, Azaz Syed said that DG ISI was "as impressive as the army chief" in his remarks to the Parliament, and performed "like a motivational speaker" according to sources present in the meeting. "We usually don't hear these kinds of speeches," the legislator told Azaz.
"I asked many legislators to tell me anything negative that transpired in or from the meeting, but surprisingly nobody had anything bad to say," Azaz told co-host Umar Cheema. "I also asked parliamentarians if there was anything said regarding the Supreme Court, but nobody gave me a clear answer," Azaz said.