Union Home Minister Amit Shah to chair all-party meeting on West Asia conflict

Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair an allparty meeting on Wednesday evening to brief political leaders on the rapidly evolving situation in West Asia and its implications for Indiarsquos economy energy security and national interests reported news agency IANSThe meeting scheduled at 5 pm within the Parliament complex is expected to bring together leaders from across the political spectrum as the government seeks to build consensus on Indiarsquos response to the ongoing crisis reported IANSSenior ministers officials to present detailed briefingThe government will be represented by a group of senior ministers including External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar along with other key officialsForeign Secretary Vikram Misri will provide a comprehensive briefing on the latest developments in West Asia outlining geopolitical risks economic challenges and Indiarsquos diplomatic engagement with global stakeholders reported IANSMeeting follows PM Modirsquos warning of lsquounprecedented crisisrsquoThe initiative comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed both Houses of Parliament describing the West Asia conflict as an ldquounprecedented crisisrdquo with potentially longterm consequencesThe conflict has now entered its fourth week significantly impacting global trade routes and energy markets prompting the government to intensify consultations with political partiesStrait of Hormuz disruption raises economic concernsA key concern remains the disruption in maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz a critical global shipping route for crude oil and gasThe instability has contributed to volatility in global energy prices raising concerns about inflation supply chains and Indiarsquos importdependent sectorsOpposition demands full parliamentary debateOpposition parties including the Congress have been demanding a detailed discussion in Parliament on the issue Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the governmentrsquos decision to opt for a briefing instead of a full debate arguing that the seriousness of the crisis warrants a comprehensive parliamentary discussion reported IANSIn the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also criticised the government alleging that Indiarsquos foreign policy approach has been inconsistent While he welcomed the move to convene an allparty meeting Gandhi said he would be unable to attend due to prior commitments reported IANSHighlevel security review already conductedThe meeting follows a recent highlevel security review chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh which was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Anil Chauhan the three service chiefs and senior officials including Samir KamatThe review focused on assessing Indiarsquos defence preparedness and strategic response to the unfolding regional crisisPlatform for political consensus amid global uncertaintyWith geopolitical tensions intensifying and their global repercussions becoming more pronounced the allparty meeting is expected to serve as a crucial platform for dialogue between the government and oppositionThe Centre is likely to outline its diplomatic economic and security strategies while seeking broader political support to navigate the challenges arising from one of the most significant international crises in recent timesWith inputs from IANS