Islamabad: Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum yesterday collectively raised their voice against the new US policy for the region.
Speaking in the National Assembly, Opposition Leader Khursheed Shah proposed calling a Joint Session of Parliament after Eid so a ‘strong’ response can be given to the US policy.
The opposition leader termed US President Donald Trump’s new policy statement for Pakistan of ‘huge significance’. He blamed the country’s foreign policy ‘failure’ over the past four years on the government’s decision to not have a dedicated separate foreign minister.
“Our foreign minister should have started today’s debate in the assembly,” he argued.
Shah also criticised Pakistan’s poor relations with most of its neighbours, saying “our neighbours hurl threats at us”.
The Pakistan Peoples Party’s senior leader came down hard on former ambassador Abdul Basit’s scathing letter to Pakistan’s envoy in US Aizaz Chaudhry. “This is a failure of governance,” said Shah.
Former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar said that the US’ continued criticism of Pakistan will not stop by mere resolutions and condemnations and needs a major overhaul of the entire narrative towards the US.
Severely criticising the US, Nisar that US’ policy in the region has failed miserably, saying that Pakistan is not responsible for its failures.
“US did not ask Pakistan before going to Afghanistan,” he said, adding that US has held talks with the Taliban in the region but “all hell breaks loose” when Pakistan wants to do the same.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Shah Mehmoud Quraishi said he has not seen the unity he is witnessing in the National Assembly.
The former foreign minister appreciated the government’s decision to consult regional allies after Trump’s speech.
“As foreign minister, I know how difficult it was to get reimbursements under the Coalition Support Fund from the US,” he stressed, referring to a similar statement from Nisar.
— Online
