The upper house of the parliament Monday demanded of the government to develop consensus on the controversial clauses of the Kerry-Lugar bill and proposed an all parties round-table conference for this purpose. On second day of the debate on the US aid bill, leader of opposition in Senate Wasim Sajjad alleged that the US has included the anti-Pakistan controversial clauses in the bill after backdoor diplomacy, taking into confidence some Pakistan officials in US.
He went on saying that the controversial clauses pertaining to country's nuclear arsenal, interference in internal affairs, attempt to weaken the spy agencies and protection of Indian interests were included in the bill due to poor lobbying of Pakistani officials.
When you go through the bill, he added, the US has not only tried to target our nuclear programme rather it wanted complete access to be certain about our N-capability. The previous governments never comprised on matters of national importance, particularly the nuclear programme, he added.
"Had we not been a nuclear entity today, we would have never been able to block anti-Pakistan propaganda and elements opposed out to our N-programme from the day-one", he maintained. He urged the government to maintain a firm stance on country's nuclear programme as the whole nation is united on not budging from our stance.
Wasim said that some countries specially India is against Pakistan's spy agencies and leaves no stone unturned to hatch conspiracies to malign Pakistan, dubbing it as a pro-terrorist state while the story is otherwise. Muridke has been included in the bill to pressurise Pakistan on the insistence of Indian lobby, he added.
Senator Gul Muhammad Laat said that the US is providing aid since 1952 and CENTO and CEATO were examples of it but the conditionalities attached to Kerry Lugar bill are not harsh but humiliating. He said Pakistan has suffered US $40 billion in war against terror as a frontline ally of the Western powers and the aid is not a blessing but our right as we have shed more blood than anybody else.
Senator Abdul Rahim Mandokhel said that the US have been using Pakistan's soil against Afghanistan due to which we stand at this critical juncture today but we acted as staunch ally in the face of global criticism. Senator Ilyas Bilour held the former regime responsible for giving free-hand to US, which has created immense internal and external problems for us, adding his party (ANP) believes in independent foreign policy based on keeping the sovereignty and integrity of the country first.
He said that the upper class of the country should shift their foreign assets to Pakistan, so as the country should get rid of the begging bowl. He alleged that the conditionalties attached to the Kerry-Lugar bill were the result of misuse of US aid by the previous regimes.
Senator Javed Ashraf Qazi severely criticised the Kerry-Lugar bill and warned that if the US Secretary of State did not give her clearance, Pakistan would not be able to purchase any equipment from US during the next five years. He said that even the US ambassador in Islamabad has admitted that the clause related to Army aid was unjustified. If the bill is implemented, he added, the US would have access to any Pakistani including Dr A Q Khan.
Senator Raza Rabbani said that it is a turning point in the history of Pakistan. Pakistan People's Party (PPP) has neither compromised nor it will do so on country's sovereignty and integrity. The relations with US, he added, should be on the basis of equality. There will no compromise on the nuclear programme as late Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is the founding father of country's nuclear programme. The US should withdraw the clauses related to social reform, audit and national security which usurp the power of any country to act independently.
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