Pakistan capable of carrying out surgical strikes: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday said that Pakistan had the capability to carry out surgical strikes inside India as he rejected the Indian claim on Uri, saying that Pakistan was not involved in the attack.

He said that Pakistan always strived for better and friendly ties with all its neighbours but Pakistan’s desire for peace should not be considered as weakness.He said this while chairing the federal cabinet meeting in which the Indian claim of conducting ‘surgical strikes’ at the Line of Control (LoC) a day earlier was rejected and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif made it clear that the leadership and the people of Pakistan were united in their resolve to counter any aggressive Indian designs.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif convened a meeting of heads of parliamentary parties on October 3 (Monday) for briefing on the Kashmir situation and security situation at the LoC.The federal cabinet joined the premier to show that entire nation was standing shoulder-to-shoulder with its valiant armed forces. The situation in the Indian-Held Kashmir (IHK) and ceasefire violations by India on the LoC came under discussion.

The prime minister reminded, “We want to focus our energies on the betterment and welfare of our people, and the development of our country.”He said that his government was committed to eliminating poverty and unemployment. To achieve these goals, peace was essential. “However, we would defend our homeland against any aggression. The entire nation is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our armed forces. Kashmir is the unfinished agenda of Partition and it couldn’t be ignored. The Indian atrocities cannot suppress the passion of the Kashmiri people.”

The prime minister said and added that the Indian aggression posed a serious threat to regional peace and security. The Indian occupation forces had resorted to unprovoked firing at the LoC in complete violation of India’s bilateral commitments as well as the international law.

The federal cabinet eulogised a befitting response of the brave and valiant jawans of the armed forces of Pakistan that they gave to the Indian aggression. The cabinet also offered Fateha on the martyrdom of two personnel of the armed forces and expressed sympathy with their families on this irreparable loss.

The cabinet expressed deep concern over the continued killings and grave human rights violations in the IHK. The Indian occupation forces have killed more than 110 innocent civilians including women, children and elderly persons. The cabinet appreciated the courage, valour and commitment of the Kashmiri people who continued their just struggle for realisation of the right to self-determination in line with the UN Security Council resolutions. The cabinet reiterated Pakistan’s call for free, fair and impartial investigation into the killings of innocent civilians, under the UN auspices. It called upon the international community to take notice of the massive human rights violations being perpetrated by the Indian occupation forces in IHK.

The cabinet welcomed the decision of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to send a fact finding mission to IHK. The cabinet expressed Pakistan’s unwavering commitment to provide political, moral and diplomatic support to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The cabinet also decided to continue to highlight the Indian brutalities, excesses and state-sponsored terrorism in IHK at the international level. The cabinet deplored the provocative statements of the Indian leadership alleging Pakistan for the Uri attack, without any evidence. The false Indian accusations were completely rejected. Indian statements and actions were aimed to deflect the international community’s attention from the situation in the IHK. The cabinet noted that the statements of the Indian prime minister had provided fresh evidence of Indian involvement in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan, which is a clear contravention of the UN Charter and the international law.

Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry briefed the cabinet about the engagements of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the UN General Assembly summit session and its sidelines in New York. The cabinet placed a ban on import of flavored/non-flavored sheesha (tobacco and tobacco free) and related substance in compliance with the order passed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. It approved Prime Minister’s Global Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme. The cabinet proposed legislation/draft bill for regulation of the benami transactions. The cabinet accorded approval to exemption from levy of CVT on immovable property transferred to and from the third Pakistan international Sukuk Company Limited. The cabinet accorded approval to following 20 MoUs and agreements: 1. Inter-government framework agreement signed between government of China and Pakistan for financing of metro rail transit system on the Orange Line in Lahore. 2. Approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding/agreements between Pakistani and Belarusian educational institutions. 3. Approval for signing of agreement on collaboration on the establishment of Urdu and Belarusian Language Chairs (Centers) between the National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad, Pakistan and Minsk State Linguistic University (MSLU), Minsk, Belarus. 4. Approval for signing of agreement between Belarus and the Pakistan on mutual recognition of educational certificates. 5. Approval for signing of MoU for cooperation in the field of vocational education between the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training of Pakistan. 6. Ex-post facto approval for initiation of negotiations and approval for signing of agreement on air services between Pakistan and Belarus. 7. Approval for signing of MoU for cooperation in the sphere of postal services between Pakistan and Belarus 8. Approval for initiation of negotiations for signing of MoU between State Bank of Pakistan and the National Bank of Belarus (NBB-The Central Bank of Belarus). 9. Memorandum of cooperation between Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and National Centre of Marketing and Price Study (NCMPC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. 10. Approval in principle to amend the convention between Pakistan and Belarus for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. 11. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) of Pakistan and the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of Japan in the field of anti money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). 12. Approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding between Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and PT KOPELINDO of Indonesia. 13. Approval for signing of Memorandum of Understanding between office of the Auditor General of Pakistan and the Turkish Court of Accounts (TCA) on auditing in public sector. 14. Approval to commence negotiations on protocol on bilateral consultations between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania. 15. Approval for signing of MoU between small and medium enterprise development authority of industries & production division of Pakistan and small and medium enterprise development organisation of Turkey. 16. Constituency Agreement for Board of Directors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). 17. Approval for signing of exchange of notes/loan agreement of polio eradication project (Phase-II) between government of Pakistan and government of Japan/JICA. 18. Approval for signing of agreement on economic cooperation between Pakistan and Hungary. 19. Ex-post facto approval of the signing of Warsak Rehabilitation Project Financing Agreement between Pakistan and Germany (KFW, AFD, EIB). 20. Ex-post facto approval for signing of MoU on cooperation in the field of Small and Medium Enterprises Development between Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) Pakistan and Bulgarian Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Agency (BSMEPA), Bulgaria.

The cabinet also took note of the measures taken by the Finance Division to Curb Terrorism Financing National Action Plan. The cabinet also confirmed the following decisions: 1. Confirmation of decisions taken by the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet in its meetings on 23rd September and 26th September, 2016. 2. Confirmation of the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Energy (CCE) dated 30.08.2016 and 15.09.2016. 3. Confirmation of decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee for Disposal of Legislative Cases (CCLC) dated 31st August, 2016. 4. Confirmation of the decisions taken by the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCOP) in its meetings held on 15-09-2014, 5-11-2014 and 8-11-2014.

The collective response of the federal cabinet was a significant first step in the wake of recent tension along LoC as well as reaffirming solidarity with the Kashmiri brethren. The second step will be the collective voice of all parliamentary parties in reiterating Pakistan’s moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiri people in their struggle for the right of self-determination and reaffirming the national resolve to make the national security impregnable.

Yet another important meeting is also being convened mid-next week to discuss implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP). All chief ministers are being invited to the meeting.