Opposition parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) lashed out at the government for what they termed the recent talks between the leadership of Pakistan and United States, a deviation from the unanimous resolution passed by the in-camera session of the parliament seeking to re-visit ties with Washington.
Talking to Business Recorder on Saturday, leaders of the two parties also criticised the government for not taking nation into confidence over the Friday's talks held with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.
"It is strange that neither the President nor the Prime Minister came up with details to tell the nation about the talks with Clinton and Mullen," said PML-N's senior leader Senator Syed Zafar Ali Shah, adding that the American officials gave their point of view before the press and left the country with threatening statements.
Referring to Clinton and Mullen meetings with Pakistani civilian and military leadership, he said that it was embarrassing, as it seemed that the entire leadership of the country was lineup for accountability before the US top officials. "The attitude showed by the US leadership was not of the 'friends' but of 'masters and slaves,'" he added. He regretted that the government did not ensure implementation of the joint resolution of the parliament, passed on May 13 after an in-camera briefing given by the military leadership, which asked the government to revisit its ties with US.
JI's Senator Professor Khurshid Ahmad, in his reaction, said that it was time that Pakistan must revisit its relations with US and also refuse to take economic and military aid, urging that to redesign its relationship with Washington to protect country's sovereignty, honour and strategic interests. He cautioned the government of deviating from the parliament's resolution, adding that the government should implement it (resolution) in letter and spirit by rejecting the pressures exerted by Admiral Mullen and Hillary Clinton.
He was of the view that it was a horrifying situation that on the one hand US was violating Pakistan's sovereignty and strangulating its economy while on the other the Pakistan's political and military leadership seemed to be surrendering to American pressure.
He further said that it was the right time to tell the US categorical words that Pakistani nation was not prepared to continue the 'client-status' and would like to remain friend without surrendering to its demands. When contacting Awami National Party (ANP) senior vice president Haji Muhammad Adeel for his party's reaction, he said that the US civilian and military administration visit to Pakistan would have positive implications on the relations of both the two countries. He said that it was need of the hour to root out terrorism and extremism from the region. To a question, Adeel said that US has not dictated Pakistan, but has asked whether or not Pakistan would continue to co-operate in the war against terrorism.
To another query regarding military operation in North Waziristan, the ANP leader said that government should take every measure to eliminate terrorism, adding every step even launching military operation in North Waziristan should be taken to weed out the menace of terrorism and extremism from the country. "We have two ways to live, either to surrender before the terrorists or fight them out," Adeel said, adding that Pakistan should give a positive response to the US question. Replying to another question, he termed the US unilateral action in Abottabad that led to killing of Osama bin Laden as in the best interest of Pakistan.