March 19, 2003	Wednesday	Muharram 15, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, March 18: Opposition leaders in the National Assembly blasted the United States ultimatum for attacking Iraq and overriding the will of majority of the United Nations Security Council, as the house opened debate on the country’s foreign policy on Tuesday.

Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Secretary-General Maulana Fazlur Rahman said the US, by withdrawing resolution from the UNSC and issuing the ultimatum to Iraq, had bulldozed the will of the entire world, crossing all the political and moral limits.

He said the world must understand the designs behind the US moves. He said the US had entrenched itself in Afghanistan in the name of chasing Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and now it was demonstrating its technical and military superiority for ostensibly ousting Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and disarming Iraq of weapons of mass destruction.

He alleged that the US, after the fall of former Soviet Union, wanted to dominate the world by imposing war wherever it felt it was necessary for maintaining its dominance.

Maulana Rahman said the positive aspect of the situation was that the rest of the world, led by China, Russia, France and Germany, had sensed American aggressive designs and was endeavouring to resist them.

He criticized Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali for stating that he would take the parliament into confidence on the issue. Merely taking the assembly into confidence meant the policy was made by someone somewhere else, Maulana Rahman said. He asked that if the parliament was merely to be taken into confidence, where the decisions were taken.

The MMA leader said it was regrettable that US President Bush paid thanks to President Gen Musharraf when the Federal Bureau of Investigation made arrests and American officials, including assistant secretary of state Rocca, met him, ignoring the prime minister. He alleged that the prime minister was even kept in dark about the visits by the foreign dignitaries.

He said the people of Pakistan were duty bound to back Iraq and its innocent people against any foreign aggression.

He warned that the US imperialism would not spare any Muslim state and will take on them one by one after Iraq. He said millions of people had expressed their resentment against American designs in Karachi and Rawalpindi and they would repeat the same abhorrence against war on March 23 in Lahore.

People’s Party Parliamentarians leader Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan criticized the government’s indecision on the UNSC resolution.

He termed the emerging war on Iraq as a great crisis looming over the cradle of civilization. He accused the generals in power of adopting ‘trench mentality’ whenever they faced any challenge.

He said Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri should have been in New York to uphold the country’s role as a member of the UNSC.

He said the country could have taken a lead role instead of remaining undecided on the question of Iraq. He said any country’s foreign policy reflected its internal strength and when there were ambitious generals in power the foreign policy would reflect the same bunkering mentality.

He recalled that Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee arrived in Lahore due to the civilian diplomacy while he refused to shake hands with a head of state who was a general and who had refused to salute him at Wagah.

He asked the back benches of treasury to pressure their front benches to assert themselves as elected representatives, who were capable of making their policies instead of taking dictation.

The PPP leader said although President Saddam of Iraq had never shown special feelings for Pakistan on Kashmir, the people would never like that the innocent and poverty stricken children and women suffer due to the war imposed by the US.

He said it was high time for national consensus and urged the government to approach the exiled leaders in Dubai and Jeddah for achieving national unity.

Parliamentary leader of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), Makhdoom Javed Hashmi, said the opposition had agreed to allow debate on Iraq keeping the sensitivity of the issue in view.

He said the opposition would continue to protest against the Legal Framework Order and not allow the government to run its business till it agreed to bring the legislation before the house.

Mr Hashmi said after the isolation of the US on the Iraq issue, China, France, Germany Russia and India were trying to put up their own block and Pakistan must endeavour to be a part of that. “Our prime minister and foreign minister should talk to their counterparts on such a proposition,” he said.

Chaudhry Wasi Zafar of PML (Quaid-i-Azam) and Syed Sifwatullah of Muttahida Qaumi Movement criticized the opposition leaders for offering no concrete proposals for framing of a suitable foreign policy.