Senate passes resolution saying misadventure by India will be met with swift, decisive response

The Senate unanimously passed on Friday a resolution stating that any misadventure by India will be met with a firm, swift and decisive response.

The resolution moved by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar. The resolution was passed in response to India’s announcement of suspending the Indus Waters Treaty following the attack in IIOJK.

The resolution stated that Pakistan remains fully capable and prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression including water terrorism or military provocation, Radio Pakistan reported.

It emphasized that people of Pakistan remain committed to peace, but will not allow anyone to transgress the country’s sovereignty, security and interests.

The Senate condemned “the orchestrated and malafide campaign by the Indian government to malign Pakistan which follows a familiar pattern of exploiting the issue of terrorism for a narrow political gain”.

The resolution also condemned India’s unlawful and unilateral declaration to hold Indus Water Treaty in abeyance saying it is a blatant violation of the treaty and amounts to an act of war.

Since the attack, relations have plunged to their lowest level in years, with India accusing Pakistan of supporting “cross-border terrorism” after gunmen carried out the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority IIOJK for a quarter of a century.

Moreover, Pakistani and Indian troops exchanged fire overnight along the Line of Control (LOC) that separates the two countries, a Pakistan government official told AFP.

“There is post-to-post firing in Leepa Valley overnight. There is no firing on the civilian population. Life is normal. Schools are open,” said Syed Ashfaq Gilani, a senior government official in Jhelum Vally district.

Meanwhile, United Nations (UN) urged India and Pakistan to show “maximum restraint”.

“We very much appeal to both the governments… to exercise maximum restraint, and to ensure that the situation and the developments we’ve seen do not deteriorate any further,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York on Thursday.

“Any issues between Pakistan and India, we believe, can be and should be resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement”.