A joint session of the Parliament is convened tomorrow (Thursday) to discuss violation of Line of Control (LoC), or the de facto border between India and Pakistan, by Indian jets in the wee hours of Tuesday. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said that a joint parliamentary session has been summoned in the wake of India's violation of the Line of Control.
India claimed that it had carried out air strikes targeting a Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) camp in Balakot, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, eliminating a large number of terrorists.
India's Foreign Secretary, Vijay Gokhale said that a "preemptive" strike is carried out on the basis of credible information to prevent further attacks from the JeM group. Pakistan Army, however, denies that any casualty or damage has taken place.
Earlier speaking on the floor of National Assembly, Pakistan Peoples Party's legislator Khursheed Shah said that Pakistan is in the state of war and a joint sitting of the Parliament should be convened to discuss the situation.
"We have to show to India and the world that the entire nation is united," he said, adding that the opposition is ready to stand on the border and Pakistanis are ready to sacrifice their lives.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Defence Minister Khawaja Asif called on all parties to be united and to show solidarity with the armed forces. "Our country, our sovereignty and our integrity are being threatened," he said.
"It is not the time for political point-scoring and we should put aside our differences and unite the entire nation," he said, "we are standing behind our armed forces like an iron wall."
He said that Pakistan should not hesitate to help Kashmiris and be ready to give a befitting response to Indian aggression.
Criticising the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for inviting Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj as a "guest of honour" at the inaugural session of the Foreign Ministers' Conclave in Abu Dhabi next month, Asif said, "Pakistan should boycott the OIC meeting. It is an insult that our enemy is being invited as a guest of honour when Kashmiris are facing bloodshed."
Former NA speaker and PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq also called on the government to raise the issue of inviting Swaraj as guest of honour with the OIC. "The OIC cannot invite anybody to its meetings without consultations with member countries," he said.
PPP leader and former foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar also criticised the OIC for inviting Swaraj in the moot. "We have to show the world that this nation knows how to protect itself and the politicians of this nation know how to stand together," she added.
In a similar vein, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal lawmaker Asad Mahmood said that Pakistan will keep highlighting Indian atrocities against innocent and unarmed Kashmiris at international forums.
"Indian prime minister has put stability of the whole region at risk," he said while extending full support to the country's Armed Forces.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf legislator and former speaker Syed Fakhar Imam said Pakistan has come at a crossroads where it has to decide whether to live with honour or otherwise.
"Today, the future of my country is at stake. Today, the people of Pakistan have to decide to either live with honour or live otherwise. And I am sure my country will decide to live with honour," he said. He said that India is being led by the warmongering Narendra Modi.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said that India resorted to a cowardly act in the darkness of night but Pakistan Air Force gave a befitting response and forced the Indian aircraft to retreat. "Pakistan is a peace-loving country but our desire for peace should not be misconstrued as our weakness," the minister said.
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