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Parliament raps US on raid

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan's Parliament in a joint session of the two Houses unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the US unilateral operation in Abbottabad that killed Osama bin Laden and called upon the government to review country's terms of engagement with the United States.

The marathon session that continued for more than 10 hours and continued till after midnight on Friday also warned the US and NATO of cutting supplies to forces in Afghanistan if unilateral attacks including drone strikes were not halted.
Lawmakers said the US had breached Pakistan's sovereignty by conducting raid inside its territory.
The session had some dramatic moments setting rare precedent when top leadership of the Pakistan security establishment and intelligence admitted their lapses and submitted themselves to accountability before aggressive lawmakers, particular from the main opposition, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz. ISI chief Lt-Gen. Shuja Pasha conceded negligence to locate Osama bin Laden in his Abbottabad lair for almost five years and offered to resign.
The military further pledged to submit to policy formulations and planning and conduct of strategic goals by the parliament and the political government abdicating their stranglehold of last many decades.
An excited information minister Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan emerged from the house and exclaimed to waiting newsmen: "The ISI chief surrendered himself to the Parliament."
She later diluted her remarks saying the security establishment has agreed to let the democratic government take decisions in foreign and strategic policies.
After a heated debate, parliamentarians also agreed to appoint an independent commission on the Abbottabad operation to fix responsibility and recommend necessary measures to ensure that such an incident does not recur.
The composition of the commission would be settled after consultations between the Leader of the House and the Leader of the Opposition, the resolution said.
mafzalkhan@yahoo.com

• Pakistan