Minister Tarar Urges Unity in Parliament Amid Tensions with India

Islamabad — Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar delivered a powerful and impassioned speech during Tuesday’s National Assembly session, calling for national unity amid rising tensions with India and condemning political point-scoring on matters of national security.

Speaking in response to recent political rhetoric and India’s accusations following the Pahalgam incident, Tarar warned fellow lawmakers against internal division. “Even on matters of national integrity and security, political point-scoring continues,” he said, urging politicians to avoid statements that could be misused by Indian media. “I don’t want clips from this session to end up on Indian media, making it look like we are a divided nation.”

The minister revealed that he had recently visited the Line of Control (LoC), an area frequently cited in Indian allegations. “I went there to show that our political differences should be put aside in times like these,” he said. “Defence and foreign policy should rise above party politics.”

Tarar drew on the unity of Pakistan’s founding leaders, lamenting that the country has “forgotten the legacy of our ancestors” and emphasizing the need for a united front when “the enemy is watching closely.”

Addressing the recent Pahalgam incident — which India claims originated from across the border — the minister flatly rejected New Delhi’s accusations. He described the incident as “a major security failure” on India’s part, questioning how such an event could occur “200 kilometres from the border” despite the presence of 900,000 Indian forces in the region.

He also cast doubt on the official Indian narrative, noting suspicious timelines and inconsistencies. “An FIR was registered within 10 minutes, but a witness said the police arrived an hour and a half later,” he pointed out, calling the narrative poorly constructed. “If the enemy wasn’t foolish, they would have planned Pahalgam better.”

Tarar echoed the words of Pakistan’s former president Gen Ayub Khan, stating, “The enemy doesn’t know which nation it has challenged,” and declared, “Today too, I say, the enemy does not know which nation it is dealing with.”

In a notable call for bipartisanship, the minister refrained from political attacks, stating, “Today I won’t call your leader bad nor my leader good. We will have our fights, pull each other’s collars, but today is not the day for division.”

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He concluded his address with a strong rebuke of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to him as “the butcher of Gujarat,” and claimed that “all the tactics of the enemy have failed.”

“The enemy is cunning, stupid, and malicious — but we are united, and that is our strength,” he affirmed.