US Secretary of State John Kerry repeated the American mantra of do more during his recent visit to the country, belying the government’s claims of having conducted “successful” talks with the US envoy, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) leader Raza Rabbani said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference at the Karachi Press Club with Rashid Rabbani, Taj Haider and other PPP leaders, the PPP veteran urged Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan to ensure parliamentary input and inclusion of politicians in the task force formed by the government to resolve issue of missing persons.
He said that the solutions presented by the bureaucracy had not been successful in the past, adding that government should avoid relying on civil and military bureaucracy.
Rabbani, who headed the parliamentary committee on national security comprising several government and opposition stalwarts, recalled that the parliamentary body had presented consensus documents on issues ranging from missing persons, terms of engagements with the US to London conference on Afghanistan.
The PPP leader strongly condemned Indian aggression on the border and said in presence of a government in Islamabad that sought peaceful solution to problems through dialogue, such uncalled for acts were condemnable.
Rabbani expressed concern over recent wave of terrorism in the country and blamed it on lack of national security policy. He said the government’s proposed all-parties conference was postponed apparently due to refusal by Imran Khan to attend the moot.
He said the PPP would not indulge in point scoring and would play constructive role on national issues.
He added that all political parties, military and civil leadership should be on the same page to address the issues facing the country.
Rabbani presented a set of recommendations to the federal government to cope with the problems facing the country, with a special focus on national security. He suggested a variety of measures to bring peace to Karachi, including strengthening prosecution to bring the perpetrators of violence to book.
He rejected the impression that the judiciary was letting off criminals and said it was due to weak prosecution that criminals were released by the courts.