Islamabad: A marathon meeting of Pakistan’s top political leaders has rejected as “baseless” US assertion that the ISI is using the Haqqani network to wage a proxy war in Afghanistan and backed the military in defeating “any threat to national security”.
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani convened the meeting of political and religious parties on Thursday against the backdrop of growing tensions with the US and threats of unilateral American military action against militants holed up in the tribal belt bordering Afghanistan.
Without naming the US, a resolution adopted at the end of nine-hour meeting said the political leadership had “rejected the recent assertions and baseless allegations made against Pakistan” as they were “without substance and derogatory to a partnership approach”.
The resolution called for a “new direction and policy with a focus on peace and reconciliation”, saying Pakistan “must initiate dialogue with a view to negotiate peace with our own people in the tribal areas”.
A mechanism for this dialogue should be put in place, it added. In an apparent response to US threats of unilateral action against militant groups like the Haqqani network, the resolution said: “The Pakistani nation affirms its full solidarity and support for the armed forces of Pakistan in defeating any threat to national security.”
The defence of Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity will never be compromised and national interests will guide the country’s policy and response to all challenges, the resolution said.
The resolution did not elaborate on the term “own people” and observers contended it could be include militant groups, including the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, that operate in the tribal belt. “‘Give peace a chance’ must be the guiding central principle henceforth,” said the resolution. The marathon meeting was attended by leaders of some 30 parties and Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
The gathering was briefed by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and Inter-Services Intelligence agency chief Lt Gen Ahmed Shuja Pasha on Pakistan’s security environment and the regional situation. Observers noted that the call for negotiations to settle the unrest in the tribal areas marked a paradigm shift in Pakistan’s security policy. The government has so far followed a policy of launching military operations and backing tribal ‘lashkars’ or militias to take on Taliban fighters in the seven semi-autonomous tribal districts bordering Afghanistan. (Agencies)
