Opposition blasts govt over resumption of NATO supply
05 July, 2012
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| Activists of Hizb-ul-Tehreer Wallaiya chant slogan against reopen of NATO supply during a protest demonstration at Lahore press club. |
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ISLAMABAD: Leader of opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday termed the government's decision to reopen NATO supply routes without meeting even a single condition of parliament "a source of degradation and humiliation for Pakistan."
"The inept rulers have made Pakistan a laughing stock in the world and through their latest about turn on NATO supplies have made a mockery of the unanimous parliamentary resolutions," he said.
Nisar added the decision was a "total and abject surrender by a fumbling incompetent, corrupt, and rudderless government, which has gone back on everything it claimed to have stood for, and in the process has not only ended up looking foolish but has also turned Pakistan's foreign and security policy into a joke".
"If they had to surrender and compromise so easily, what was the point in first blocking the NATO routes and then referring the matter with great pomp and show to parliament for ultimate decision," he said.
Nisar questioned what had happened to the unanimous parliamentary resolution "asking for immediate cessation of drone attacks and withdrawal of all security and espionage agencies".
Pakistan plans safe passage for NATO supply
The Interior Ministry has asked Pakistan Rangers to arrange proper security for NATO/ISAF supply containers moving into Afghanistan through Pakistani territory.
Sources said the ministry had written a letter to the Pakistan Rangers DG, asking the force to provide foolproof security to ISAF/NATO containers. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Interior Affairs Rehman Malik also issued directions to the interior secretary to chalk out a comprehensive strategy for providing "maximum security to NATO supplies to Afghanistan".
Meanwhile, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has also issued instructions to field formations to make preliminary arrangements for the release of NATO/ISAF containers destined for Afghanistan, sources said. They said that the FBR had directed relevant collectorates of Customs, including Model Customs Collectorates Quetta, Peshawar and Port Qasim, to finalise arrangements for the clearance of consignments of ISAF and NATO.
A letter of the Interior Ministry, addressed to the Pakistan Rangers DG, has been faxed to relevant collectorates. The formal notification to Customs authorities would start the process of release of NATO containers from Karachi through Chaman and Torkham to Afghanistan.
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