The opposition in the National Assembly on Friday strongly denounced Pakistan-Israel nexus and accused the government of bypassing the Parliament on issues that require national consensus.
Only coalition of six religious parties, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal staged walkout from the House over what it called an abrupt deviation in government's 58-year old principled stance 'on recognition of Israel'.
Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri for the first time met publicly with his Israeli counterpart Silvan Shalom in Istanbul on Thursday, triggering a sharp reaction and protests from religious hard-liners.
As soon as the Lower House proceedings started after the break of two days, the opposition members began shouting and asked the Chair to allow a thorough discussion over what the government claims a 'breakthrough meeting'.
Although the reaction was strong from all opposition parties, but the MMA lawmakers staged more vocal and noisy protest saying the Parliament was consistently being bypassed.
They criticised President General Pervez Musharraf for single-handedly making all decisions regarding the foreign policy and ignoring the country's ideology and security.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Speaker National Assembly, Chaudhry Amir Hussain accepted the opposition's adjournment motions on the issue and allowed them to speak in the presence of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.
Initiating the debate, MMA leader Liaquat Baloch said the government has taken another U-turn in its foreign policy after Kashmir and Afghanistan under external pressure.
He protested for not taking the public into confidence on important issue. "This is single man's decision. Even the Parliament and its standing committees have not been briefed on the issue," he added.
Raja Pervez Ashraf, Secretary General of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians, said President Musharraf was breaching the privilege of the Parliament by taking all important decisions on his own.
He blamed the President for not consulting the Parliament and the elected representatives over country's foreign policy. "President has made a mockery of the Parliament and it has become merely a rubber-stamp institution," he maintained.
Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Muslim League-N's Khwaja Asif said no individual could take vital national decisions without the consent of the Parliament, which is representing people of the country.
"The decision to initiate talks with Israel is very sensitive and the will of the people should not be ignored," he said without opposing the talks.
Hafiz Hussain Ahmed of the MMA in his speech came down heavily on the President and said that General Musharraf was afraid to address the Parliament of Pakistan but was eager to address Jewish gathering in the United States.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement's Farooq Sattar said that if this was a step towards eliminating terrorism and establishing peace in the world his party would welcome this step.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khusro Bakhtiar said that Kasuri has categorically stated that the meeting does not mean change in foreign policy of the government or move towards recognition of Israel.
PML president Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, federal ministers Wasi Zafar, Sher Afgan Niazi, and state minister Shahnaz Sheikh also advocated the government cause.
The treasury benches defended the meeting, stating it was held on the initiative of the leaders of the brotherly Muslim countries including President of the Palestinian Authority and Saudi King Abdullah.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly passed a unanimous resolution expressing solidarity with the victims of Baghdad tragedy.
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