Pakistan’s parliament united in the fight against terrorism
Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, who moved the resolution, said it would serve as a policy framework for the government to formulate a national security strategy.
Following the successful vote, Mr Gilani thanked all members of parliament for taking part in the debate and said that the government had been given a fresh mandate to “reorganise the war against extremism”.
“Extremism, militancy and terrorism in all forms and manifestations pose a grave danger to the stability and integrity of the country,” the resolution read.
“Dictatorial regimes in the past pursued policies aimed at perpetuating their own power at the cost of the national interest. We need an urgent review of our national security strategy” and must revisit the ways we fight “terrorism in order to restore peace and stability to Pakistan and the region through an independent foreign policy,” it also said.
For Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace, the resolution is good news. In his opinion it is “an important document” given the country’s current state, especially since “it was debated by both houses of parliament” with “a consensus that enabled them to vote the resolution.”
Although “there are no real new elements” in the resolution, it stills calls for “long term policies” and for this reason it is a “positive element” even if it will take a long time to be implemented.
For his part Shahbaz Bhatti, a Catholic member of the National Assembly, said that “this is a historic success”; parliament “showed a united stand to deal and handle the challenge of extremism and terrorism.”
Bhatti congratulated both President Zardari and Prime Minister Gilani for this “success”, stressing the fact that “parliament as a whole was involved in the discussion.”
Now “we as a nation have to act against all forms of extremism and manifestations of terrorism,” he said, adding that ordinary citizens must support dialogue as the only way “to solve conflicts” both at home and abroad.
By the same token, Pakistan, in his view, should not be used “as a base for attacks against other sovereign states.”
Similarly, the government must implement economic and social policies that “promote development in tribal areas and autonomous border provinces,” Bhatti said.
It must also strengthen “pluralism, social justice, religious freedom and mutual tolerance” as prescribed by the 1973 constitution.
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