Pakistan Parliament Calls For Security Strategy Review
By VOA News
22 October 2008
Pakistan's parliament has called for an urgent review of the nation's security strategy, with an emphasis on dialogue aimed at reducing violence.
In a rare joint session held behind closed doors, both houses of parliament late Wednesday passed a resolution calling for dialogue with all parties willing to abide by the rule of law. That language is seen as an indirect reference to Taliban militants who have been fighting government and U.S. forces in northwestern Pakistan.
The resolution also called for "an independent foreign policy," a clause that points to some lawmakers' discomfort with the level of influence that Washington has on Islamabad's approach to fighting terrorism.
Some Pakistani lawmakers, including former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, have vocally advocated dialogue with the militants to end the unrest and help stabilize the country.
The Pakistani government is under pressure from Afghanistan and the United States to take on militants based along the Afghan border. Since August, Pakistan's military has been locked in battles against Taliban and al-Qaida militants in parts of the country's rural northwest.
Parliament has been holding the highly unusual closed sessions for the last two weeks to discuss the nation's security situation.
Earlier Wednesday, Pakistani officials said a clash between security forces and Taliban militants killed at least 15 people in the northwestern Swat Valley region.
Officials said the fighting erupted when militants attacked a paramilitary convoy late Tuesday in the Kabal area, a Taliban stronghold. They say security forces later foiled a suicide attack, destroying an explosives-laden vehicle in the same area.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.
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