ISLAMABAD, Aug 2: The Senate on Wednesday strongly condemned what it called “naked Israeli carnage” in Lebanon and Palestine in a unanimous resolution, but opposition asked the government to do more to mobilise the Islamic world and the UN for a comprehensive solution to the Middle East conflict.
In response to opposition speeches that saw the government’s role wanting, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Khusru Bakhtiar assured the upper house on the opening day of its monsoon session that the government would not disappoint the nation and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would take some initiatives at an extraordinary Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit being held in Malaysia.
The Senate resolution, jointly moved by the opposition and the ruling coalition, expressed its disappointment at the ‘abysmal failure’ of the United Nations Security Council to condemn the Israeli attacks or call for an immediate ceasefire and urged the OIC to “overcome its inertia and formulate a collective and effective political and humanitarian response to the present crisis”.
“The Senate of Pakistan condemns in the strongest terms Israeli aggression against the sovereign state of Lebanon and regards this naked Israeli carnage against the civilian populations of Lebanon and Palestine as a crime against humanity and wanton violation of international law and norms,” the resolution said.
The house voiced its ‘shock and horror’ on the continued use indiscriminate military and air force against civilians and particularly the massacre of 60 people, including 37 children, at Qana village in Lebanon in what it called “barbarism unparalleled in the contemporary world”.
“Israel is raining death and destruction with full backing of its allies,” the resolution said without identifying the allies.
But several opposition speakers condemned the role of the United States and UK in support of Israel and what they saw as inaction of Islamic countries under the Western influence.
“The Senate warns that if the world community fails to stop these atrocities immediately, they would be violating human rights and all norms of international behaviour and be responsible for any escalation of atrocities,” the resolution said.
It added: “The Senate calls upon the OIC, the United Nations and the international community to arrange an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Israeli forces and to strive for an early, just and comprehensive solution to the Middle East conflict in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.”
Opposition leader Raza Rabbani said that the United Nations had become redundant and the governments of Muslim countries were ‘out of tune’ with the aspirations of their people and added: “The Muslim governments must take a warning to respond to the sentiments and aspirations of their people or they will find a place in the graveyard of history for themselves.”
Prof Khurshid Ahmed of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal said the resistance of Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon had proved that Israel was not invincible despite its military power and called for devising a Nato-type ‘common defence policy’ of Islamic countries.
PML-N’s Ishaq Dar said the Pakistani government had not done enough to respond to the situation just to please ‘their masters’ and called for a more proactive role by Islamabad.
Minister of State Bakhtiar said that the government had done enough and Pakistan was one of the first countries to condemn the latest Israeli aggressions against the Palestinian government and Lebanon and demand a ceasefire.
He said the prime minister would propose a long-term OIC humanitarian role in the conflict areas.
Earlier, the opposition staged a token walkout to protest against the alleged government failure to provide timely relief to people hit by recent flashfloods caused by heavy rains in some parts of the country.
None of the ministers of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement was present in the house.