Rajya Sabha MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar will move a resolution in Parliament to declare Pakistan a terror state.
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat has informed Chandrasekhar that his name was cleared in the draw of lots held for Private Members’ Resolution, to be included in the Businesses, for 28 July. He has been asked to send the text of the Resolution by Monday. Chandrasekhar, in his Private Members’ Resolution, wants the government to “designate Pakistan a State Sponsor of Terrorism forthwith” and “indict Pakistan for (being) directly and indirectly complicit in the dastardly attacks by Pakistan based organizations and terrorists”.
The Resolution seeks to “prohibit entry and overflight of all aircraft registered with Pakistan, or operated under nationality of Pakistan, into and over Indian territory.” It also urges the government to “prohibit the entry of automobile, sea vessels registered with Pakistan, or operated under nationality of Pakistan, into and over India territory/territorial waters respectively”.Through this resolution, the MP wants the government to terminate relevant bilateral ties, from amongst including, but not limited to economic (MFN status, Indus Water Treaty), trade, financial transactions and cultural ties, travel restriction with Pakistan, its domiciled citizens and Pakistan based corporates and non-corporate organisations, and to take adequate and necessary remedial measures via international institutions, such as World Trade Organisation, in order to revoke any preferential treatment, directly or indirectly, accorded to Pakistan.
The Resolution draft mentions how Pakistan, having suffered military defeats, including the decisive Indo-Pak war of 1971, leading to its partition, has been actively waging a war against India by sponsoring, training and aiding terrorists who have and continue to execute terror attacks in the country. After the Uri terror attack in September, Chandrasekhar had introduced a private members’ bill also on the issue in November last year. “As long as India does not declare Pakistan a terror state, India cannot expect the rest of the world to do the same,” he had said at that time, and appealed the members of Parliament to snap all economic and trade relations with the neighbouring country.
The Bill—Declaration of Countries as Sponsor of Terrorism Bill—stated that “Pakistan propagates and harbours agents of international terror who have repeatedly attacked the territory and people of our country … (it) poses a continual risk to the peace and security of the region.” The Bill also provided for imposing legal, economic and travel sanctions on citizens of the neighbouring country.
However, the Bill was withdrawn after assurance from the Minister of State for Home Hansraj Ahir that the existing laws were more than enough to check the activities of terrorists.