National Assembly on Wednesday through a unanimous resolution rejected 'hostile and threatening' statements made by US President Donald Trump and General John W Nicholson against Pakistan. Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif moved the resolution in the House that was later adopted unanimously. Trump in his statement on August 21 regarding Afghanistan and South Asia accused Pakistan of having safe havens of terrorists on its soil, while General Nicholson, Nato Commander in Afghanistan, also claimed in a recent interview about existence of Taliban Shura in Quetta and Peshawar.
The resolution said that given India's known support to terrorism and its destabilizing polices in the region, this House condemns attempts by the Trump administration to provide more space to India in Afghanistan and considers it a move highly detrimental to regional stability and a complete failure to understand existing ground realities and emerging challenges in the region.
It also condemned Indian state-inflicted repression on the people of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and reiterated Pakistan's continued diplomatic, political and moral support for their struggle for right to self-determination. "This House rejects the US claim of giving Pakistan billions of dollars in aid. In fact Pakistan's economy has suffered a loss of more than $123 billion," it said.
The House also denounced the complete disregard and lack of respect for Pakistan's immense sacrifices in countering terrorism. "The fact that more than 70,000 Pakistanis have been victims of terrorism, a menace brought to the region four decades ago, has been totally ignored," it said.
The National Assembly also acknowledged the sacrifices of security forces in their counterterrorism operations and expressed full support for the counterterrorism operations being conducted by the armed forces of Pakistan along with the Rangers and law enforcement agencies (LEAs). This House reiterated that as a responsible nuclear weapon state, Pakistan has in place a robust and credible command and control system which has been universally recognized.
The House termed that President Trump's and General Nicholson's statements on Pakistan as hostile and threatening, and called on the government to: express the determination of people of Pakistan to protect Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity; considers the postponement of any visits by US delegations to Pakistan or by Pakistani delegations/officials to the USA; consider suspension of co-operation with the US, particularly the provision of ground/ air lines of communication (GLOCs/ALOCs) through Pakistan; draw up and inform the US and the Afghan government of a blueprint for the return of all Afghan refugees in a dignified but specified time frame; formulate economic policies to deal with any situation arising out of the absence of US assistance; commence a diplomatic initiative, particularly with friendly countries in the region, to inform the international community of Pakistan's counterterrorism strategy and successes and the repercussions on the region of the failed US Afghan policy; and reiterate Pakistan's determination to strengthen border control measures on the international border with Afghanistan and demand co-operation and similar action from Afghanistan and ISF.
The National Assembly also expressed its serious concerns over the increasing concentration of ISIS and other terrorist networks in the Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan and demands: "Afghanistan, the US and its allies should close their borders to leaders of terrorist/militant groups carrying out acts of terrorism against Pakistan." The House also demanded the Afghan government shut all safe havens being provided to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and other terrorist organizations, from where terror attacks are conducted against Pakistan.
The US, Nato and the Afghan government should ensure that India is denied the use of Afghan territory to conduct terrorist attacks against Pakistan, it said. "This House reiterates its commitment to constructively engage with the US on the full spectrum of bilateral relations based upon the principle of reciprocity and mutual respect," it said. This House also reiterates Pakistan's desire for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and urges the government to continue its efforts to strengthen its relations with Afghanistan and support international efforts for peace and reconciliation, the resolution said.
The foreign minister also said that former military dictator General Musharraf brought the Afghan war to Pakistan after the September 11 attacks in the United States, and this also violated sovereignty and integrity of the country. The minister said that the superpower (America) has been blaming Pakistan for its failures in Afghanistan but "we have been resisting it and the whole nation is on the same page on this issue." Earlier, Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Khursheed Shah speaking on the floor of the House urged the government to convene a joint session on the issue after Eid-ul-Azha.
"This is a political war and we should make our foreign policy by keeping in view our neighboring and friendly countries," he said, questioning as to why the country's foreign policy has been weakened in the past four years. He also advised the government to use diplomatic corps to deal with the issues arising from Trump's tirade against Pakistan. PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ridiculed Trump's claim that the US has paid "billions and billions of dollars" to Pakistan and called on the government to issue the record of the past 20 years to "expose" the American claims.
"It's not billions of dollars, it's peanuts," he said, adding that Coalition Support Fund payments from the US were for services rendered by Pakistan in the fight against terrorism. Nisar said that while he was the interior minister, he had called for an "international audit" of US claims that it had paid Pakistan $240 billion over five years, but that "very democratic country (US) did not respond to the audit proposal, and the matters are still the same," he claimed.
Agreeing with Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah, he said that a joint session of the parliament should have been called to discuss the response to the US policy instead of a National Assembly session. A message conveyed from a united parliament would be positive, he added. The former interior minister said that all institutions including parliament should come up with a consensus narrative on the issue and then stick to it. "Once the narrative is built, no institution should compromise on it," he said.
He said that Turkey, China and Russia are with Pakistan while Iran is also an important neighboring country and it must also be taken on board. PTI member Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that peace in Afghanistan via Delhi cannot be achieved and this is also not acceptable to Pakistan. "If you (the US) want to stop our financial assistance, do it; but Pakistan will not bow down to you," he said, questioning the US as to why they have been scuttling Pakistan's efforts for border management with Afghanistan.
Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid urged the government to open a channel of backdoor diplomacy for talks with the United States. "We should open a backdoor channel for negotiations with US," he said, urging the government to review its policies towards Washington. He said 22 Indian nationals were killed when the United States dropped 'Mother of All Bombs' in Afghanistan. "What were they doing there?" he asked.
Dr Farooq Sattar of MQM urged the government to increase capacity of diplomats and take practical steps to deal with the situation. "Foreign and economic policies are interlinked with each other," he said, adding that economy controls and dictates the politics. The MQM members were also wearing black arm bands to protest against provisional results of the census 2017. Minister for SAFRON Abdul Qadir Baloch, Sahibzada Tariqullah of Jamaat-e-Islami, Maulana Amir Zaman of JUI-F, Haji Ghulam Ahmad Bilour of Awami National Party and others also spoke on the issue in the National Assembly.
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