ISLAMABAD: The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khurshid Shah, has said that besides highlighting the Kashmir issue in his speech at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should have informed the world about India\u2019s act of fomenting terrorism in Pakistan.
\nCommenting on the prime minister\u2019s speech, he said that though Mr Sharif had highlighted the Kashmir issue he did not talk about threats being faced by the country because of India-sponsored terrorism.
\n\u201cInstead of delivering an ordinary speech, the prime minister should have emphatically and categorically highlighted threats and problems being faced by Pakistan due to Indian involvement in incidents of terrorism in the country,\u201d the opposition leader said in a statement issued by his office on Thursday.
\nHe said the recent arrest of Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav in Balochistan was a clear proof of Indian interference in Pakistan and the prime minister should have told the world how India was sponsoring terrorism and lawlessness in Pakistan.
\n\u201cThis is a good time for us to expose the real face of India which claims to be a secular state.\u201d
\nMr Shah also criticised the prime minister for not taking parliament into confidence before proceeding to the US for addressing the UN General Assembly. \u201cIt seems that the prime minister considers his adviser on foreign affairs a \u201cMr know all\u201d.
\nHe said the performance of the government\u2019s advisers on foreign affairs was before the nation and was evident from the fact that Pakistan was getting isolated in the world community and did not enjoy good relations with any of its neighbours.
\nExpressing concern over the tabling of a bill in the US Congress seeking to declare Pakistan a state sponsor of terrorism, Mr Shah asked the government to give up the practice of running foreign policy on an ad-hoc basis and adopt a consistent policy.
\n\u201cIt is regrettable that the two most important ministries \u2014 defence and foreign affairs \u2014 are being run on an ad-hoc basis,\u201d he added.
\nThe opposition leader asked the government to take the parliament into confidence over the recent escalation in tension between Pakistan and India which he said had almost created war hysteria.
\n\u201cIt is the responsibility of the government to devise a strategy to deal with Indian interference in the country after thoroughly discussing the issue on the floor of the parliament,\u201d he said.
\nThe parliamentary leader of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the National Assembly, Syed Naveed Qamar, has convened a meeting of the party\u2019s members of the assembly at Parliament House on Sept 27 to discuss the strategy for the coming session of the lower house.
\nSources in the party told Dawn that besides discussing issues related to legislation, the meeting would discuss options to force the government to hold a full-fledged debate on the Panama leaks scam. The opposition members, they said, would also press the government to hold a debate on the country\u2019s foreign policy with particular focus on the tension between India and Pakistan after violence in occupied Kashmir.
\nThe government has convened sessions of the National Assembly and the Senate from Monday. The sittings are expected to continue for two weeks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD: The Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Syed Khurshid Shah, has said that besides highlighting the Kashmir issue in his speech at the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif should have informed the world about India\u2019s act of fomenting terrorism in Pakistan. Commenting on the prime minister\u2019s speech, he said that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4037","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n