Strongly condemning the resolution in the US House of Representatives on Balochistan, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has described

it as an attack on Pakistans sovereignty. We condemn it as it is against our sovereignty, he said while talking to journalists at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) after inaugurating a development project.

Mr. Gilani said, that Pakistan took the decisions of stopping the Nato supplies to Afghanistan, boycotting the Bonn Conference and getting the Shamsi Airbase vacated in the national interest. Therefore, there is no need to be worried about these decisions. He added: We want to have good relations with all neighbours, whether it is China, Afghanistan, India or Iran, as it is extremely important to have good relations with our neighbours for stability in the region.

Balochistan Chief Minister Aslam Raisani has condemned the resolution moved in the US Congress and termed the move an interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan and violation of international laws. In a statement issued in Quetta, nawab aslam raisani urged the federal government to formally lodge a protest with the US government. The US government should ensure that its senators and congressmen avoid anti-Pakistan activities. The resolution should be rejected. He said Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher who had moved the resolution was a controversial person and speaking against Pakistan was his habit. The resolution states that the Baloch nation has a historic right to selfdetermination. It notes that Balochistan is currently divided between Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan with no sovereign rights of its own. The Baloch people in Pakistan are subjected to violence and extrajudicial killing. Nawab Raisani said that soon after the Abbottabad operation Congressman Rohrabacher had moved a bill in the Congress asking the US government to stop aid for Pakistan and also alleged that Pakistan would hand over the wreckage of a helicopter used in the raid that killed Osama bin Laden to China if it was not been taken back immediately. Nawab Raisani said Rohrabacher was the same senator who had earlier opposed declaring Taliban terrorists and described them as supporters of an organised society who wanted real development in their country. He had also supported

terrorist Mohyuddin Ahmed who was involved in killing a large number of women and children in Bangladesh. The Chief Minister said there was no separatist movement in Balochistan, adding that the so-called supporters of human rights had never raised a voice for the right to self-determination of the people of Kashmir and Palestine who had been struggling for self-rule for the past 60 years. He said the US lawmakers had no interest in Baloch people and their right to self-determination. Their recent activities were just aimed to put pressure on the Pakistan government and achieve some incentives in the game being played in the region for hegemony. Nawab Raisani said there was an elected government in Balochistan having representation from all areas of the province and these representatives had been sent to the assembly through vote by the people. The resolution moved in the US Congress is not only interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan but also an insult to the mandate of the people of Balochistan. He said moving the resolution on the eve of a tripartite conference between Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan was aimed at driving wedges between the three brotherly countries. The Chief Minister urged the federal government to ignore all foreign pressure and implement the Pak-Iran gas pipeline and other energy projects. He said Irans move to help Pakistan resolve its energy crisis was very encouraging and Pakistan must benefit from it. He expressed the hope that the US foreign office and its ambassador in Pakistan would play their role and dissociate themselves from the resolution. I hope the US government will reject the resolution on Balochistan, he added. The Foreign Minister termed the bill in the US House of Representatives an isolated move by a few individuals. She recalled that the National Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution condemning a recent open hearing on Balochistan by the Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Oversight and Investigations. Hina Rabbani Khar said the National Assembly resolution had represented the legitimate reaction of the people of Pakistan. An unfriendly and irresponsible attempt by a few individuals in Washington is aimed at creating distrust between the people of the two countries, she observed. She expressed the hope that the bill

would not sail through the House as a vast majority of US Congressmen cherish friendly relations with Pakistan.