ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday unanimously passed two resolutions to condemn Indian aggression along the Line of Control (LoC) and the “massacre” of civilians in Egypt by the country’s military regime.
Senators, mostly from the opposition, called upon the government to effectively and forcefully raise the two issues at international forums such as the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Through the first resolution, moved by Leader of the House Raja Zafarul Haq, the senators across the divide urged the government “to clearly convey to New Delhi the necessity to respect and uphold the 2003 ceasefire accord”.
The resolution condemned an attack on the Pakistan High Commission and demonstrations outside the PIA offices in New Delhi.
“The house also reiterates that Pakistan shall continue to endorse the just and legitimate struggle of the Kashmiri people for realisation of their right to self-determination as enshrined in the UN Security Council resolutions,” it said.
“While Pakistan is committed to working for peace with its neighbours, it remains steadfast in its resolve to fully defend its sovereignty, territorial border and national interests. It salutes its brave and valiant armed forces and assures them of its fullest support in achieving this objective.”
The second resolution condemning “the bloody crackdown on unarmed civilians by…Egypt’s military rulers” was moved by PPP’s parliamentary leader Raza Rabbani. Terming “the brutal use of force against unarmed civilians” resulting in the loss of over 500 lives in Cairo and other cities “a tragic event”, the resolution says: “The military regime should ensure that legal and constitutional issues are addressed through a dialogue amongst all parties, in an inclusive and peaceful manner to enable the country to successfully restore the democratic institutions as early as possible.”
Taking part in the debate after the passage of the resolutions, Mr Haq of PML-N and Kamil Ali Agha of PML-Q regretted the inaction on the part of the OIC over the situation in Egypt.
Mr Agha also criticised the role of the US and European countries and regretted that the resolution had not mentioned the US role. He expressed concern over the role of some Muslim countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, and said the country was playing “a condemnable role” in the Egypt situation.
The PML-Q senator suggested that Islamabad should take initiative to convene a special meeting of the UN Security Council to stop killings of innocent people in Egypt.
An independent senator, Humayun Mandokhel, described India’s decision to release water into Pakistan’s eastern rivers as “water terrorism” and asked the government to take up the issue at the UN.
Zahid Khan of the Awami National Party drew the attention of the house towards reports claiming involvement of Pakistani people in the Egypt unrest. He said it was unfortunate that Pakistan was blamed for every bad situation and unrest in any part of the world, be it Egypt, Iraq or Syria.
PPP’s Farhatullah Babar suggested to the government to make a demand for an independent inquiry into the incidents of firing along the Line of Control through the UN.
The Senate will meet again on Tuesday evening.
