Parliamentarians hail Foreign Minister’s visit to India for SCO moot participation

Islamabad: Members of National Assembly (MNAs) on Thursday hailed Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s decision to participate in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) moot in Goa, India to present a vibrant and vociferous perspective of Pakistan on core regional and local issues.

MNA, Sardar Talib Hassan Nakai of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said it was after 12 years that any Pakistani dignitary was visiting India to participate an international event.

He said no doubt India was a bigger country than Pakistan but the armed forces and the nation were ever ready to thwart any aggression and misadventure of the enemy.

Nakai said in his opinion, the foreign minister’s participation was necessary to present the country’s opinion at the international level conference of council of foreign ministers at SCO conference.

He underlined that the speech of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was critical and would set the focus of country’s agenda as either he would highlight Kashmir issue and recent Indian human rights violations and atrocities in the Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK).

Sardar Talib Nakai believed that the forum was opportunity for the foreign minister to raise his voice on pertinent issues of regional and bilateral importance.

MNA, Waheed Alam Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) said the Foreign Minister was participating in an international conference and not a bilateral event.

He said the participation of Pakistan was important to raise its voice at the international forum.

Khan said the country could not afford to live in conflicts with its neighbouring countries and had to proceed further with a positive approach to forge cooperation for mutual benefit and development of the region.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, Faisal Karim Kundi said the SCO forum was an international event and there was no bilateral meeting with India and neither the country had asked for any on the occasion.

Kundi said the leadership of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian (PPPP) from Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto to Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had ardently highlighting the issue of Kashmir and Palestine around the world.

MNA, Syed Ali Musa Gilani of PPPP said the Kashmir issue would be raised at the SCO forum by the Foreign Minister as it was an integral part of Pakistan.

He said the visit of the Foreign Minister would have been finalized after consultation with the coalition parties of the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM).

Gilani said there was no solution to Kashmir issue through wars rather political governments and leaderships of both sides would have to sit on the table to resolve the longstanding dispute through dialogue.

He regretted that the Indian atrocities and illegal occupation of the IIOJK could not be ended through placing time clocks at Serena Chowk rather active and sincere dialogue would bring a way out.

MNA Nisar Ahmed Cheema of PML-N said Kashmir was the core issue of the country and there was no peace possible in the region without the resolution of the Kashmir Issue.

“Bilalwal Bhutto Zardari has bravely presented Kashmir Case at all international forums and exposed Indian Prime Minister

Narendra Modi as butcher of Gujrat and he is a butcher,” he said.

Senator Mushtaq Ahmed of Jamaat-e-Islami was of the view the foreign minister should have protested on India’s decision to hold G-20 Summit in Srinagar and had instead sent the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Secretary to attend the meeting.