Miffed by November 26 deadliest attack, Pakistan on Wednesday conveyed to the United States and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) that enough is enough and that it will no longer tolerate any incident of spilling of even a single drop of blood of any civilian or soldier. Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar told Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs that the US and coalition forces had always violated Pakistan sovereignty.
"Enough is enough...we will not tolerate the killing of our civilians and security forces," she said, adding that more apologies from the US and coalition forces wouldn't work, as not only were soldiers martyred in the attack, Pakistan's sovereignty was also dented.
She said that the Nato attack could not be termed a mere incident, which took place despite the established mechanism regarding movement on the border between Pakistan and allied forces working in Afghanistan. But, she stated, the Nato authorities didn't inform Pakistan army about their activity before the incident. From the day one, she said when Pakistan joined the war on terror, there were some set redlines. Unfortunately, however, US and its allies had always crossed those redlines, she added.
"If Isaf will not give guarantee of sovereignty of Pakistan then Pakistan reserves its right to take any decision in its national interests," she said, adding that Pakistan was going to revisit its relations with the US and coalition forces. "We are a sovereign state and we will not allow our sovereignty to be attacked by anyone," she remarked.
She also told the panel that the Cabinet's decisions to get Shamsi airbase vacated and not to attend Bonn Conference were final. She said that the US had been sent a notice to vacate Shamsi airbase within 15 days. The supply line of the Nato had also been suspended, she added.
The Foreign Minister said that these steps had been taken to ensure national security and the country's sovereignty, adding that there would be no compromise on Pakistan's interest and that Islamabad would not bow before Washington's pressure in this regard. The panel endorsed the government's decision taken in reaction to Nato unprovoked attack on two border posts of Pakistan in Mohmand Agency. The Foreign Minister, who briefed the panel in detail on the Nato attacks as well as 'Memogate' controversy, parried many queries particularly those related to repeated drone attacks and the killing of 35,000 civilians and soldiers in war against terrorism.
Following repeated queries by the committee members, Khar, however, termed the drone strikes a violation of the country's sovereignty and stated that there was no agreement with the US on the drone operations inside Pakistan's territory. She further told the panel that Pakistan had been playing a responsible role for establishment of peace and security in the region, adding that it had rendered more sacrifices in war on terror than any other country. The Foreign Minister said that
"We will have to look to ourselves rather than looking to others. We will have to come out of the mercy of others," she added. On the issue of the controversial memo, the Foreign Minister said that neither the Foreign Office nor the Pakistan Embassy in Washington had any record of the alleged letter. According to her, a letter was sent to the US general by the government.
She termed the 'memo' fabricated, adding that such concocted stories had been published in past against Pakistan. She, however, added that the Prime Minister had referred the matter to Parliamentary Committee on National Security and added that it would be better to wait for the results of the probe. She assured the panel that the matter would be fully investigated as Pakistan ambassador could do nothing without the permission of the Foreign Office.
When the Foreign Minister was asked why the Pakistan ambassador resigned if he had no involvement in the 'memo' she said that the Prime Minister took decision to remove Haqqani in the national interest as several questions were raised in this regard and that his removal was also necessitated by the need for a transparent probe into the matter.
Khar, however, stated that Mansoor Ijaz had also targeted Pakistan army and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) in the past. She also told the panel that Haqqani was contemplating initiating a legal action against Ijaz for the allegations. The Foreign Minister also appreciated Haqqani's services as Pakistan envoy to Washington, saying he had played a pivotal role towards the protection of national interests.
She also ruled out any possibility of a military take-over, adding that the present civilian government was enjoying good relations with the military establishment. The committee also condemned former Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi's remarks regarding Pakistan's nuclear programme, as its chairman Senator Salim Saifullah Khan, stated that Qureshi who had remained on an important portfolio should not have made comments on strategic issues, which provided an opportunity to country's enemies to launch anti-Pakistan propaganda.