AAP MP wants govt to pass Bill to designate Pakistan as state sponsor of terror

New Delhi: At a time India is seeking to isolate Pakistan on the international stage, AAP MP Ashok Mittal is all set to move a private member’s resolution in the Rajya Sabha urging the government to pass a Bill to officially designate Pakistan as a “state sponsor of terrorism”.

This, Mittal believes, can trigger a framework of comprehensive and punitive sanctions, including a complete freeze on trade and economic relations. The resolution is listed for discussion on Friday afternoon and if taken up, will come close on the heels of a debate on Operation Sindoor in Parliament.

The resolution said, "The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has, since its inception in 1947, pursued a state policy of sponsoring terrorism and unconventional warfare as an instrument of its foreign policy, a sinister strategy that has inflicted deep wounds upon India and poses a grave threat to global peace."

Referring to Osama bin Laden taking shelter in Abbottabad, it said, "Pakistan’s export of terror is a global plague…yet their leaders, responsible for countless deaths, roam freely, address rallies and are protected by the Pakistani state, making a mockery of international law."

Through his resolution, Mittal wants a "comprehensive dossier with irrefutable evidence" of Pakistan's terror sponsorship and a "relentless diplomatic campaign” to reach out to the United Nations, G20 and other forums with the "explicit goal of isolating Pakistan politically, economically and militarily".

Urging the government to present “fresh evidence” of Pakistan's failure to dismantle its terror financing infrastructure at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Mittal said in his resolution that the government should move to secure Pakistan's immediate re-inclusion in the Grey List and to build a compelling case for its subsequent inclusion in the Black List.

India should also spearhead the formation of a global coalition of terror-impacted nations to collectively impose multilateral sanctions on Pakistan, including restrictions on international aid, lending from the IMF and World Bank, and the sale of military hardware, the AAP MP said.

The government should also initiate a comprehensive review of all bilateral treaties and agreements with Pakistan to leverage strategic advantages and “impose tangible costs” on Pakistan for its continued sponsorship of cross-border terrorism, “until it takes credible, verifiable and irreversible action to dismantle its terror infrastructure”, he said.

Mittal added that the hostile policy towards India was first unleashed in October 1947 when Pakistan “orchestrated an invasion of Jammu and Kashmir by tribal lashkars from the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), actively supported and led by its own army, in a bid to forcibly annex the territory”.

Mittal also referred to the 2001 Parliament attack, 2008 Mumbai attack, Uri attack in 2016 and 2019 Pulwama attack, as well as the UN designating around 140 individuals and entities from Pakistan as “global terrorists”.

The resolution also said the state policy of nurturing terror has backfired catastrophically on Pakistan itself, resulting in the loss of over 32,000 of its own citizens since 2001 and costing its economy over $126 billion.