In a tit-for-tat, Parliament on Friday unanimously rejected a resolution passed by Pakistan National Assembly on Thursday on the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
The resolution adopted in both the houses, asked Islamabad "to desist from such acts of support for extremist and terrorist elements." Earlier the parliament has passed a similar resolution in February 1994 under P.V. Narasimha Rao led Congress government after the Pakistan had coaxed the Islamic countries to move a resolution at the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to condemn India on human rights violations. Though the resolution fell, because Iran backed out at the last moment, its passage would have invited UN Security Council sanctions against India, which was then reeling under the forex crises.
On Friday, the government sat with the main opposition BJP's leaders to draft the resolution to give an agreed and befitting reply to Pakistan. Former foreign minister Yashwant Sinha of BJP raised the issue in the Lok Sabha. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said it was an attack on the national sovereignty and integrity of India and urged Speaker Meira Kumar to move a resolution condemning Pakistan's act. Nath later took the same resolution to the Rajya Sabha and got it piloted by Chairman Hamid Ansari and approved unanimously
by the House.
In the Rajya Sabha, Opposition leader Arun Jaitley raised the issue as soon the House met for the question hour, stressing that the Pakistan National Assembly resolution reflects attitude of entire polity of Pakistan. Referring to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's offers of India walking an extra mile for peace with Pakistan, he said: "Forget even an extra yard. It is Pakistan that will have to walk two miles."
Jaitley also asked the government to forget any structural dialogue with Pakistan so long as the resolution remains. Noting that India is being kicked internationally be it by Male, Rome or Islamabad, he sought a debate on the foreign policy and the government promptly agreed for such a debate.
The resolution passed by the two Houses rejected "interference in the internal affairs in the internal affairs of India" and reminded Pakistan of its commitment not to allow its territory to be used for terrorism against India. "Only fulfillment of this commitment can be the basis for peaceful relations with Pakistan."
The resolution also reiterated 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." The one-page resolution added that "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 resolution was drafted after the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Affairs inister discussed the issue with senior most BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani and Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj.
Jaitley said the resolution is culmination of the beheading of the Indian jawans, the bomb blasts in Hyderabad and the attack on the CRPF camp in Srinagar, showing clearly evil designs of Islamabad that need serious consideration by the government on how to deal with it in this situation.
The Prime Minister has in the past been very magnanimous to say that he is willing to walk an extra mile, but "he should now forget walking even an extra yard as Pakistan does not deserve this....Pakistan will now have to walk extra
two miles rather than our Prime Minister wanting to walk an extra mile," Jaitley said.
