Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir on Wednesday termed US drone strikes absolutely unlawful and violation of Pakistan's sovereignty, which could not be condoned.
In an informal chat with reporters after briefing the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on the 'Biological Weapons Convention (Implementation) Bill 2012', the foreign secretary said that Islamabad's stance on the drone attacks was very clear that these were against Pakistan's sovereignty and could not be tolerated at all. He said that drone attacks were against the international laws and the international community perceived it as illegal.
About Pak-US relations and reopening of Nato supplies, Bashir said that it would be premature to say anything about the matter, however, he added that parliament would give a guideline in this regard and the country would stand by it. It is expected that the recommendations of the parliamentary committee on national security regarding Pakistan's future co-operation and its terms of engagements with the US would be presented before the joint session which was likely to be held on January 30, he said.
To another question regarding Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar's expected visit to Kabul, he said that the minister would soon visit Afghanistan to discuss important issues with Afghan leadership including regarding regional peace and stability. He said that Khar's Kabul visit was part of Islamabad's efforts for restoration of regional peace, as Pakistan backs reconciliation process in the neighbouring country and wants cordial relations with its neighbours.
Earlier, briefing the NA body, Bashir said that 164 countries including Pakistan, US, UK, India and Israel had signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC), commonly known as BWC. He added that 132 of the signatories had taken measures for implementation of the BWC.
The foreign secretary further told the committee that the bill did not have any link with the war against terrorism. The panel, however, expressed reservations on some clauses of the draft and delayed the passage of the bill for 15 days to make further deliberations. The committee also summoned details of the enforcement agency or agencies to be tasked by federal government with the purpose of implementation of the bill and copies of the bills of some other countries that have implemented the law.
The draft legislation includes provisions relating to prohibitions, controls and penalties on designing, developing, manufacturing, use, transport, import, sale, transfer, acquisition and possession of biological weapons. Article IV of the Convention requires all parties to take, in accordance with their constitutional process, any necessary measures to prohibit and prevent the development, production, acquisition or retention of the (biological) agents, toxins, weapons, equipment and means of delivery specified in the Convention, within the territory of such state, under its jurisdiction or under its control.
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