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No role for militancy in Pakistan’s policy-making
[DAWN] There’s no role for militancy in policy-making and non-state actors cannot be allowed to operate from the Pak territory, says a parliamentary delegation from Pakistain, which completed its five-day visit to the US capital on Saturday.In a briefing to Pak, and later an Indian, journalists at the end of their visit, the prime minister’s special envoys on Kashmire also said that the United States was doing "positive pushing and prodding" for reducing tensions between India and Pakistain. Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, one of the two envoys sent to the United States to present Pakistain’s case on Kashmire, said that they would not be surprised if Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi finally came to Islamabad to attend the Saarc summit "and embrace Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... ". "There is no alternative for talks. And this is a message that the Americans are also sending to both India and Pakistain," said the other envoy, MNA Shezra Mansab Ali, while explaining why she believed India and Pakistain would soon engage one another for reducing tensions. A Pak media report that the civilian government sent a blunt message to the country’s military leadership last week, saying that Pakistain would be completely isolated if it did not stop cross-border Death Eater attacks, also echoed at the briefing. Senator Syed said that there was complete consensus on this issue in parliament, where all parties have jointly drafted a 22-point resolution, asking the government to end militancy. "There is no role for militancy in policy- making and non-state actors cannot be allowed to operate from the Pak territory," he said The militancy, particularly cross-border attacks, was an issue that the delegation had to confront at almost each of more than a dozen meetings it attended in Washington. Since Sept 18, when murderous Moslems attacked a military facility in Uri and killed at least 18 Indian soldiers, the US State Department, the White House and the Pentagon have almost daily spoken about the situation in held Kashmire and the consequent tensions between India and Pakistain. In these statements, US officials regularly mentioned the Uri attack, calling it an act of "cross-border terrorism" and urging Pakistain to stop these attacks. US officials and think tank experts also raised this issue with the Pak parliamentary delegation, reminding it of the need to end cross-border attacks if Pakistain wants its stance on Kashmire to be heard. Posted by: Fred 2016-10-10 |
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