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Parliament slates United States raid in Angoor Adda

* Asfandyar demands in-camera session on foreign policy
* Prof Khursheed says Pakistan should shoot down US aircraft violating border
* Senator Mandokhel blames govt-backed foreign militants

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: The Senate, the National Assembly and the NWFP Assembly on Thursday passed resolutions condemning Wednesday’s raid on an Angoor Adda village near the Afghan border by US forces.

Identical resolutions in the upper and lower houses said the attack was a gross violation of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It sympathised with the people of Tribal Areas and sought compensation for the victims of the attack.

“Any incursion inside our territory and resulting in loss of innocent lives is unacceptable. This matter may be taken up strongly with member countries of the ISAF,” Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said while reading out the resolution that he tabled in the National Assembly. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, chief of his own faction of the Pakistan People’s Party, said it was the first ground attack by foreign forces in Pakistan since the Afghanistan war began, and should be taken seriously.

In-camera session: Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan demanded a more strongly worded resolution and an in-camera parliamentary session on foreign policy.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Ahsan Iqbal said US President George Bush had assured Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani during his recent US visit that Pakistan’s sovereignty would be honoured. He also demanded the parliament be briefed about the rules of engagement between the US and Pakistan.

Leader of the House in Senate Raza Rabbani, who tabled the resolution in the upper House, said Pakistan was committed to eliminating terrorism but would not tolerate violation of its territorial integrity in future. He said the ‘cowardly’ attack was against the United Nations Charter and the international community should take notice of the continued violations of Pakistan’s borders.

Shoot down aircraft: Jamaat-e-Islami’s Senator Prof Khursheed said Pakistan should shoot down US aircraft violating the border. “If the army cannot defend the country, the nation will surely ask why they have such a large army. The time has come when we should convey to America that enough is enough,” he said. Khursheed said the previous government’s policies had emboldened the US-led coalition forces. Senator Ishaq Dar said the previous regime had made Pakistan ‘a slave’ of the US.

Foreign militants: Senator Abdur Rahim Mandokhel said Arab, Uzbek and Chechen militants present in Pakistan’s Tribal Areas were responsible for such attacks. He said that the foreigners were operating in the area in connivance with the government and were carrying out attacks against the coalition forces in Afghanistan, inviting reaction. “The government should give an assurance to the Afghan government that the Pakistani soil will not be used against the coalition forces in Afghanistan, otherwise we will not support the resolution,” he said.

Dr Abdul Malik Baloch said all US actions were in collusion with the Pakistani government.

The NWFP Assembly called the raid “an attack on Pakistan’s sovereignty and integrity” demanding the federal government raise the issue at all forums and take measures to stop the recurrence of attacks on Pakistan.

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