JOIN USIndia on Friday slammed Pakistan National Assembly’s resolution condemning the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru stating “it is interference in the internal affairs of India” and an act of “support for extremist and terrorist elements” by Islamabad.
Presiding officers of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha — Speaker Meira Kumar and Chairman Hamid Ansari respectively — moved identical resolution to assert that the “entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including the territory under illegal occupation of Pakistan, is and shall always be an integral part of India. Any attempt from any quarter to interfere in the internal affairs of India will be met resolutely and with complete unity of our nation”.
The one-page note also reiterated the fact that “Pakistan has committed that it would not allow its territory to be used for terrorism against India and only fulfillment of this commitment can be the basis for peaceful relations with Pakistan”.
A day before the Pakistan national assembly came out with unanimous resolution not only condemning hanging of Guru but also said that his body buried inside Tihar jail should be handed over to his family. This demand by Guru’s wife and separatist leaders has been rejected by Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on the grounds that jail manual does not permit it.
Slamming the government’s foreign policy over the way the country was being kicked around, BJP leaders including Yashwant Sinha and other opposition parties had demanded that Parliament should condemn neighbouring countries meddling into domestic affairs besides calling for snapping of all ties with Pakistan till Islamabad puts an end to “aiding and abetting terrorist activities in India”.
The opposition parties did not allow the Lok Sabha to function in the morning leading to three adjournments and after that the government agreed for a resolution by presiding officers.
Sinha described Pakistan’s resolution as “Parliament attack part II”. He said the first happened when terrorists sneaked into the building to create mayhem and now Pakistan’s parliament is doing a sequel by giving sanctity to terrorism.
Pakistan-backed terrorists had attacked a CRPF camp in Srinagar on Wednesday which was five days after the neighbour’s prime minister Parvez Alam Ashraf visited Ajmer Sharif on a pilgrimage and offered prayer for world peace.
Making hard hitting statement in the Rajya Sabha while criticising Pakistan’s action, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley said it gave stamp of approval on the terror attack on Indian Parliament.
“The Prime Minister has in the past been very magnanimous to say that he is willing to walk an extra mile. After a series of these provocations, we would like to urge him that forget a mile he should now forget walking even an extra yard. Pakistan does not deserve this,” he said, adding that “we should seriously forget discussing any serious issue with Pakistan through a structured dialogue”.
‘Endorsing terror’
“Besides interfering in India’s internal affairs, the resolution is an official statement by the entire polity of Pakistan endorsing the terrorist attacks,” Jaitley said.
The BJP leader said India needs to take a strong stand on the issue. “The Government of India will have to seriously consider how to deal with Pakistan,” he said.
“As long as this resolution remains, we should seriously forget normalising ties,” he added.
Attacking the UPA government’s foreign policy, he also cited “failures” in Male or it is Rome or it is Islamabad, “we seriously need to discuss our foreign policy and where it is leading us because if India can be kicked around in this manner internationally then there is something seriously wrong with the manner in which external affairs is run.”
Meanwhile, the sports ministry has cancelled the hockey series between the two nations as gesture to convey New Delhi’s disappointment.