ISLAMABAD, July 29: The opposition in the National Assembly on Thursday held the government responsible for the killing of two Pakistani workers in Iraq.

Speaking at a joint news conference at parliament cafeteria after adjournment of the lower house, Raja Parvaiz Ashraf of the People's Party Parliamentarians, Imran Khan of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf and Saad Rafiq of PML-N asked the government to announce in clear terms that it would in no circumstances send troops to the war-shattered country so that such tragedies could be avoided in future.

The opposition leaders accused the government of indecision on such an important issue because of its total submission to the US. Imran Khan said he would lead rallies all over the country against the government if it decided to send troops to Iraq against the will of the people, Saad Rafiq said his party would also launch a protest campaign, while Raja Parvaiz Ashraf said a decision would be taken in consultation with ARD component parties.

They described the incident as the complete failure of the country's foreign policy and said it showed that the government had failed in protecting its citizens both inside and outside the country.

Mr Ashraf said the government could have saved the lives of the two Pakistanis had it outrightly announced that troops would not be sent to Iraq which would have also improved its image in the eyes of the public.

The government, he said, should have followed the example of Philippines which withdrew its troops after threats to its citizens in Iraq. The PPP MNA said members from both sides of the house today decided to condemn the killing and they would express their sentiments in tomorrow's debate.

He asked the government to monitor the activities of some Saudi companies which, he claimed, were illegally recruiting workers for the kingdom from where they were dispatched to Iraq.

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Khan said: "A country unable to protect its citizens enjoys no respect in the world." He accused the rulers of ignoring the plight of hundreds of Pakistanis languishing in Kabul's notorious Pul-i-Charkhi and Cuba's Guantanamo bay prisons.

Mr Khan also accused the government of killing its own people in Wana at the behest of the United States and said it was giving only a scant attention to the killing of six Pakistanis by police in Macedonia on the false pretext of being involved in terrorism.

He claimed that only a handful of people would support the sending of troops to Iraq if a referendum on this question was held in the country. He said he would launch a country-wide campaign against the government if it decided to send troops to Iraq.

Saad Rafiq said a grand plan had been prepared for subjugating Pakistan and the winding up of an elected government on October 12, 1999, was its first stage. The PML-N leader said under a well-planned conspiracy, the Pakistan Army was being made controversial. He said a government which was incapable of protecting the lives of its people had no right to remain in power.

He claimed that the killing of Pakistani workers could have been avoided had the National Assembly speaker allowed a debate on a resolution pending with the assembly secretariat for the last two months about the abuse of prisoners at Abu Gharaib prison and violations of human rights by the US forces.

Mr Rafiq described the appointment of Javed Ashraf Qazi as part of a conspiracy to weaken Pakistan's image among commity of nations. Later, women MNAs belonging to MMA led by Samia Raheel Qazi and Dr Firdaus also condemned the killing of Pakistani workers and asked the government to refrain from sending troops to Iraq. They said: "We had warned the government in the past and warn it again not to send Pakistani troops to kill Muslims in Iraq."