News
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Pakistan sticks to Bonn boycott* Parliamentary body endorses decision to boycott Bonn moot
* PM says Pakistan won’t allow its sovereignty to be jeopardised
By Tanveer Ahmed
ISLAMABAD: The bi-partisan Parliamentary Committee on National Security endorsed on Friday the decisions taken at the government level ranging from cutting off NATO supplies, taking back the Shamsi air base from US forces and boycott of Bonn Conference on Afghanistan, amidst the declaration by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani that Pakistan is being made a scapegoat for the failure of international policies in the war-torn Afghanistan.
The in-camera meeting of the committee, which lasted for three hours, deliberated at length the situation arising out of the NATO aggression on country’s territory. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani briefed the committee about the multi-faceted strategy of the government adopted in the aftermath of the incident. The committee was also mandated to give its recommendations to parliament to review the terms of engagement in war on terror.
“The committee’s meeting, chaired by Senator Raza Rabbani, took stock of the situation created by NATO strike and supported the response of the government,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Firdaus Ashiq Awan told the media after the conclusion of the meeting at Parliament House. Director General Military Operations Major General Ishfaq Nadeem also briefed the committee.
The committee fully endorsed the cabinet’s decision to boycott the Bonn Conference with majority of the members in favour of this decision and few reportedly against it. It also threw its weight behind the decisions of the Defence Committee of the Cabinet to cut NATO supplies routed through Pakistan and taking back the Shamsi air base from US forces.
“Our efforts to improve our relations with Afghanistan and support for Afghan-led and Afghan-owned efforts for reconciliation and peace have been misconstrued and actively subverted by certain quarters,” Gilani said and remarked that there is a limit to our patience. Cooperation cannot be a one-way street. He termed it a “grave miscalculation” for any one to believe that stability and peace in Afghanistan can be restored or maintained by destabilising Pakistan and vowed that under no circumstances will we allow Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity to be jeopardised by ill-considered and rash actions such as the attacks on our territory by NATO/ISAF.
Apparently stamping the orders of army chief Gen Parvez Kayani to respond to any aggression without any approval from the top brass, Gilani said that instructions have been issued to all units of the armed forces to respond, with full force, to any act of aggression and infringement of Pakistan’s territorial frontiers. Gilani pointed out that the coordination mechanism remained ineffective during the NATO strike as minutes after the attack occurred, our military authorities contacted the US/NATO and Border Coordination Centre. Relief and reinforcements sent from the nearby Pakistani posts also came under attack, he said.
The meeting of the committee was attended by ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defence, Interior, Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan, Information and Broadcasting and senior officials of the relevant ministries. Giving the government’s perspective, the prime minister regretted that our willingness to cooperate with the international community on counter-terrorism has not been understood in its proper perspective saying that the notion to give Pakistan a “to do” list and the mantra of “do more” have caused immense resentment.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk