ISLAMABAD: A huddle of Pakistan's civilian and military leaderships is expected to take place over former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's admission of his county's involvement in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, top-level government sources said on Sunday.
Sources privy to the development said a meeting of the National Security Committee, Pakistan's highest forum, headed by the PM and mandated to consider national security and foreign policy matters, is likely to take place within the next two days.
Sharif's remarks have sparked a debate in Pakistan with his opponents criticising him for toeing the Indian line while many praised him on social media for having the courage to speak the truth.
Sharif had admitted publicly on Friday that Pakistani terrorists were involved in the 26/11 attacks and questioned why Ajmal Kasab and nine others were allowed to cross the border to carry out the carnage in Mumbai in 2008. He added that support for non-state actors led to Pakistan's global isolation.
Weighing the ongoing wave of discussions on the Mumbai attacks, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said India used the Mumbai attacks for its own "despicable" plans. He blamed India for refusing to cooperate during the investigation of the case. "The lack of cooperation by India was the biggest hurdle in the investigation. India wasn't interested in a transparent investigation," he said.
Sherry Rehman, Pakistan People's Party (PPP) senator and leader of the opposition in the Senate, slammed Sharif on Sunday, saying the former PM had backed PM Narendra Modi's stance and compromised Pakistan's narrative in the war against terrorism. "PPP rejects Nawaz Sharif's statement and stance on the Mumbai attacks," she said, adding that questions were being raised all around the world following Sharif 's remarks.
Shahbaz Sharif, Nawaz's younger brother and Pakistan Punjab's CM, said his brother's interview was twisted out of context by his political opponents.