Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A legislative body of Upper House of Parliament on Monday permitted a resolution against the recent statement of Indian army chief Gen Bipin Rawat, who had said that his forces were ready to call Pakistan’s ‘nuclear bluff’ and cross the border to carry out any operation if asked by the government.

The resolution stated that Pakistan would raise the statement of the Indian army chief on every diplomatic platform, and that the Pakistani armed forces were capable of giving a befitting response to India. The approval of resolution was made in the meeting of Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence, which was held on Monday in Parliament House.

The senators condemned the provocative and aggressive statement of the Indian army chief, where he had openly boasted about crossing the border (launching military operation) against Pakistan. The resolution passed unanimously by the committee termed this war-like proclamation by the Indian army chief as part of a disturbing pattern of statements which had been reinforced by concrete actions on the ground, including the highest number of violations across the LOC/Working Boundary during 2017 and cross-border terrorism by India against Pakistan.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Senator Mushahid Huussain Sayed and was attended among others by Senators Lt Gen (r) Abdul Qayyum, Farhatullah Babar, Seher Kamran, Col (r) Tahir Hussain Mashhadi, Ilyas Bilour, Hidayatullah, the Defence secretary, and Establishment Division additional secretary.

The resolution also expressed that it was no coincidence that the Indian army chief’s statement came soon after the infamous tweet of President Trump against Pakistan and was timed with the visit of Benjamin Netanyahu to India, since the Modi-Trump-Netanyahu alliance had formed an ‘Anti-Muslim Axis’ based on bias, bigotry and racism.

“The Senate Defence Committee urges the international community to uphold the principles of international law, the United Nations Charter and norms of civilized behavior, and reject this ‘Anti-Muslim Axis’. The Parliament and people of Pakistan stand by the valiant armed forces of Pakistan in uniting to give a befitting response to all forms of aggression, use of force and outside interference, a resolve reaffirmed during the recent visit of the Senate Defence Committee to Chakothi on the Line of Control and North Waziristan.”

The committee urged the government to take up the matter at all international forums and expose the malicious intent and aggressive role of India against Pakistan, and also condemned the atrocities in IOK, and called for the early resolution of Kashmir issue accordingly to UN resolutions.

Over the matter of appointment of serving major general to the post of Military Lands and Cantonments (DG MLC) director general, Senator Farhatullah Baber said that the continued posting of serving military officers since 1999 on the civilians cadre post was an issue of violation of the Supreme Court’s June 2013 order, of conflict of interest, of keeping a PM not fully informed and demoralizing civilian service cadres.

Published in Daily Times, January 16^th 2018.