News
Friday, April 02, 2010
FM to brief lawmakers on Pak-US strategic talks, NA told
* Journalists stage walkout to protest incident at Jinnah Hospital
* PML-N, PML-Q parliamentarians walk out against POL price hikeStaff Report
ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi will brief the House on the recently held Pak-US strategic dialogue, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Malik Ammad Khan said on Thursday.
Responding to a point of order in the National Assembly, he said the Pakistani delegation had held successful negotiations with the US in the strategic dialogue.
He said the government would formulate a foreign policy in consultation with parliament and take all political parties into confidence.
“Due to its sincere efforts, the government has been successful in curbing terrorism and now even the international community is admiring our efforts and our intelligence agencies for their work,” he said.
Khurram Dastgir of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had drawn the attention of the House towards an awaited briefing by the foreign minister about the strategic dialogue between Pakistan and the US government in Washington.
Dastgir had said the foreign minister had yet to brief the House on the strategic dialogue and that members and people of Pakistan were waiting for the said briefing since the delegation had returned from the US.
Walk out: Also, journalists covering the National Assembly staged a walk out of the press gallery to protest the manhandling of reporters at the Jinnah Hospital in Lahore on Wednesday. They demanded that action be taken against the doctors of the Jinnah Hospital Lahore who were involved in the incident.
State Minister for Information and Broadcasting Syed Sumsam Bokhari condemned the incident and assured the journalists that the matter would be effectively taken up with the Punjab government.
“We shall seriously take up this issue with the Punjab government and ensure that the grievances of the journalists are addressed,” he said.
Referring to Wednesday’s incident, Deputy Speaker Faisal Karim Kundi also described it as ‘regrettable’.
No increase: Also, parliamentarians from the PML-N and the PML-Quaid staged a token walk out from the National Assembly against the increase in oil prices while demanding the government withdraw its decision to raise POL prices.
Members of both parties expressed concern over the increase and said it would directly affect the prices of essential commodities.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk