Indian aggression on LoC: Govt summons joint sitting of parliament today

Ag Agencies

ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI/PESHAWAR: Following demand from the opposition parties on the floor of the National Assembly (NA), the government on Tuesday decided to hold a joint sitting of the Parliament, in the wake of Indian aircrafts' intrusion in Azad Kashmir. While Punjab, Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies strongly condemned Indian aggression on Tuesday.

The demand of joint sitting of the Parliament came from veteran PPP parliamentarian Syed Khursheed Shah who said a message of unity should go to the 207 million people and the armed forces. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces for the security and defence of the motherland,” he said.

He said there is a war like situation and a joint session of the Parliament should immediately be convened to discuss the security situation.The members from both the treasury and opposition benches expressed the resolve to stand united and shoulder to shoulder with the armed forces to defend every inch of the motherland.

The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ali Muhammad Khan, said India just like the past has resorted to cowardly act in the darkness of night but the Pakistani Air Force gave a befitting response and forced the Indian aircraft to retreat. He said Pakistan is a peace loving country but Pakistan’s desire for peace should not be misconstrued as its weakness.

“Pakistan is a responsible nuclear state, but if India does not refrain from provocations, the Pakistani nation will give a befitting response,” he said. He said following meeting of the National Command Authority (NCA), the prime minister would also brief the parliamentary leaders to take them into confidence.

Khawaja Asif of PML-N said Pakistan should boycott the OIC meeting as protest in Abu Dhabi where Indian External Affairs minister has been invited as the guest of honor. He said the OIC should have taken opinion of the member countries prior to inviting the Indian minister as guest of honour. Khawaja Asif it is not the time for politics rather there is the need to rise above political affiliations and give a joint message of unity to the armed forces and the nation.

Syed Fakhar Imam said India has challenged the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Pakistan. He said the armed forces and the nation have the capability and capacity to give a befitting response to India. He supported the opposition’s demand that a joint session of the parliament should be convened to give a joint response to the Indian provocation.

The former speaker, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, said Pakistan should impose ban on all imports from India and pointed out how could the OIC invite anybody to its meetings without consultation with the member countries.

Amir Haider Khan Hoti of Awami National Party while observing that Indian leadership is playing with fire for the sake of politics, demanded a joint sitting of the Parliament where the services chiefs should also be invited. He said Pakistan should send delegations to the OIC countries and register protest over inviting the Indian external affairs minister to the OIC meeting. Khalid Hussain Magsi of Balochistan Awami Party said war is being imposed on Pakistan by India for the sake of political gains. He regretted silence of the international community on gross human rights violations in occupied Kashmir.

Hina Rabbani Khar of the PPP said the entire world is seeing India as an aggressor and extremist state. Khurram Dastgir of PML-N said Pakistan should step up diplomatic efforts to expose the extremist face of India before the world. The Minister for Inter Provincial Coordination, Fehmida Mirza said Modi Junta is perturbed over the importance, Pakistan is assuming in the region because of its strategic position and its role in the Afghan peace process. Mir Khan Jamali said Pakistan’s peace, stability and prosperity are not being digested by India and that is why it is resorting to such acts. Naz Baloch of PPP said Modi is doing the politics of hate to win the upcoming elections. She warned that any misadventure by India would have disastrous consequences for the whole region. Amjad Ali Khan of PTI said India is also hatching conspiracies to destabilise Pakistan. In his observation, Speaker National Assembly Asad Qaiser categorically stated that Pakistani nation will defend the motherland till their last breath. He said Pakistan is a peace loving nation but any foreign aggression will be dealt with iron hands. He said the world should support Pakistan’s overtures for peace and stability in the region.

Syed Javed Hasnain of PML-N said violation of the Line of Control by India is unacceptable. He said Modi is staging such a drama in order to win the upcoming elections. The Parliamentary Secretary on Foreign Affairs Andleeb Abbas said world major capitals do not accept Modi’s narrative on terrorism. “The House will send a categorical message that if India resorted to any other aggression, then we will launch ‘Raddul Bharat’ on the pattern of Raddul Fassad operation,” she said. Shahida Akhtar Ali of MMA said the morale of our forces is very high and they are second to none. Agha Hassan Baloch of the Balochistan National Party regretted that despite peace offers by Pakistan, India has resorted to aggression. The Minister for Communications, Murad Saeed said the House had sent a loud and clear message to the world that Pakistani nation knows how to defend the geographical boundaries of the country. Abdul Qadir Patel of the PPP said they have full confidence in the capabilities of the Pakistan’s armed forces. The Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul said India would be given response for violation of the LoC and entering Azad Kashmir territory. The Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan told the National Assembly that a joint sitting of Parliament would be summoned on February 27 (today) to give a unified response to the aggression and violation of LoC by India. Speaking in the National Assembly, he appreciated the government and Opposition benches for speaking with one voice on the Indian belligerence, adding sons and daughters of the nation would defend the country. He said the joint session would give a clear message to the enemies of the country including India and Israel.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Assembly unanimously condemned the Indian intrusion in Muzaffarabad sector to expose the nefarious face of India before the United Nations. The resolution was moved by former Senior Minister and PTI MPA Abdul Aleem Khan and was taken out of turn by the House. The resolution stated that Punjab Assembly ‘vehemently condemns war fanatic India for coward intrusion in Muzaffarabad sector.” It also stated that it had been the tradition of the neighbouring enemy country to launch cowardly attack at night. The resolution also praised the Pakistani Air Force for timely responding to the Indian intrusion and forcing the Indian aircraft to retreat. Paying rich tributes to the armed forces, the resolution also stated that Pakistani nation has full confidence in the defence capability of country’s armed forces.

The resolution also stated that the Indian government, in order to win the upcoming elections, is bent upon using all negative tactics and Pulwama incident is its example. The Pakistani government has already strongly denied its’ involvement in that incident, said the resolution. The House through the resolution demanded the federal government to expose the real ugly face of India before the United Nations. The resolution was moved and passed unanimously by the House.

The PA members while condemning Modi government for its crimes against humanity also vowed to safeguard every inch of the Pakistani homeland. Uzma Kardar, the PTI MPA while speaking on the floor of Punjab Assembly stated that India has started to face global isolation due to the policies of its Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mahender Pal Singh, the PTI Sikh MPA while condemning the Indian government for perpetrating cowardly acts stated that Pakistan is the land of Baba Guru Nanak and if once Modi government cast an evil eye towards it, India would be the worst to suffer. Saadia Sohail Rana of PTI while condemning the nefarious designs of the Modi government said Pakistani nation is united under one flag and it could never compromise on country’s sovereignty. Sheikh Alauddin of PML-N, while coming hard on the Indian government stated that since day one, he has been opposing trade with India. Syed Hassan Murtaza of PPP, Tariq Masih Gill, Khalil Tahir Sindhu of PML-N also participated in the debate and condemned Indian aggression and violation of human rights in Kashmir.

Also, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed a unanimous resolution condemning the Indian airstrikes near Balakot and termed it a cowardly act. Malik Liaqat of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) moved the joint resolution signed by members of the opposition. It said that Pakistan is a peace-loving country and it always advocated the promotion of peace in the region but its desire for peace should not be construed as its weakness. The resolution said the entire nation is behind the armed forces and would not hesitate to render any sacrifice for defending every inch of the motherland. This assembly also assured the armed forces that the 220 million people of the country were united and would defend the ideological and geographical boundaries of the country. Narendra Modi is using such tactics in a futile attempt to win the election, it added.

Meanwhile, Punjab Assembly also unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the Indian violation of Pakistani airspace. As many as 31 lawmakers debated the resolution for two hours and four minutes.