PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution against Indian attack in Balakot area declaring that Pakistan’s armed forces and people are ready to give a befitting response to the aggression.

“Pakistan is a peaceful country and believes in maintaining brotherly relations with neighbours,” MPA Liaquat Ali of the ruling PTI said tabling the resolution on the floor of the house.

Mr Liaquat Ali, however, said Pakistan knew how to respond to any aggressive act against its sovereignty.

He demanded of the Foreign Office to summon the Indian high commissioner to condemn Balakot attack and warn that if India commits such an act again, then Pakistan will give a befitting response.

The treasury and opposition benches unanimously passed the resolution when Speaker Mushtaq Ahmad Ghani put it to vote.

The resolution was signed by Deputy Speaker Mehmood Jan, communication and works minister Akbar Ayub, Nighat Orakzai and Sanaullah of the PPP, Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha of the PML-N and Inayatullah Khan of the MMA.

Says armed forces, people united for fitting response to aggression

Earlier, PPP member Nighat Orakzai called the Indian attack as election stunt meant to gain public support in the upcoming general elections in India.

“Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has committed cheap tactics by attacking Pakistan,” she said while participating in the debate.

Mr Orakzai said the prime minister, security forces and masses stood united in ‘this critical hour’.

Parliamentary leader of the ANP Sardar Hussain Babak said Pakistan and India should remain peacefully as the people would be the ultimate sufferers in case of war between the two countries.

He said both India and Pakistan should not interfere in each other’s affairs in the ‘larger public interest’.

Mr Babak said Pakistan was ready to take action if India shared actionable information with it over Pulwama attack.

He also linked the Balakot attack with the upcoming general elections in India as the ruling party wanted to get Indian masses support.

PML-N MPA Sardar Aurangzeb Nalotha praised security forces for not allowing the Indian Air Force to go deep into Pakistan.

“Whenever Indian general elections are at hand, such terrorist acts take place on the borders,” he said.

The lawmaker said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not only the enemy of the Pakistan but he was also the enemy of his own nation as he wanted a bloody war between the two countries.

Participating in the debate, PTI MPA Fazl Ilahi alleged that India was involved in the terrorist activities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces.

He said India had established training camps for terrorists in Afghanistan, who crossed the border to carry out terrorist activities in Pakistan.

The session turned tumultuous for sometimes when the opposition members staged a demonstration in front of the speaker’s dais for alleged discrimination in the allocation of funds for the construction around 600 kilometers roads in different parts of the province.

Speaking on a point of order, Sardar Babak said the Japanese government had provided billions of rupees worth of loans for building farm-to-market roads in the province.

He said the residents of KP would pay back loans and therefore, it should be equally distributed among them.

The lawmaker, however, said roads were planned to be built only in the constituencies of the ruling parties’ MPAs.

During the protest, they shouted slogans against the PTI government.

The chair later prorogued the session.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2019