January 31, 2006	Tuesday	Muharram 1, 1427

KARACHI, Jan 30: A seminar to discuss the implications of the US attack on Bajaur, resulting in the tragic loss of 18 innocent lives of Pakistani citizens, was organized at the Department of International Relations, University of Karachi.

Columnist Shahnawaz Farooqi was the keynote speaker on the occasion.

He was of the view that the US deliberately undermined Pakistan’s sovereignty in order to demoralize the people of this country.

Mr Farooqi was of the view that it was not an isolated event but forms part of a larger picture on the context of the US war against Islam. The US refusal to apologize for this unwarranted aggression added to the concerns of the people of Pakistan, he added.

Prof Talat A. Wizarat, the programme coordinator stated that the US action could also encourage India to violate the sovereignty of Pakistan and other neighbouring states. It could also encourage Israel to undermine the security of Palestinian people and the neighbouring Arab states, she added.

The participants of the seminar demanded that the US government should apologize to the government and the people of Pakistan and should pay compensation to the affected families.

They also asked the Government of Pakistan to clarify its position in the light of assertions made by the US embassy in Islamabad that the US ambassador was not summoned to the foreign office.

They said that it did not serve any purpose to claim that foreigners were killed as a result of the US attack in the absence of any concrete proof.

A lively question answer session followed the discussion.—PPI