India's move to reject resolution on Afzal Guru has sent strong message to Pak: Meira Kumar

New Delhi - Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Friday said India's move to reject Pakistan's resolution on the hanging of Afzal Guru in Delhi last month for his role in the December 13, 2001 terror strike, has definitely sent a strong message to the latter.

"They (Pakistan) had passed a resolution. In that context, everybody passed this resolution unanimously today. Definitely, this has sent a strong message," she told media outside the Parliament here.

Meanwhile, External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid said it's a resolution that was moved by the Speaker at the request of the house.

"There was a unanimous rejection of the resolution that was passed in the Pakistan nation assembly. It's a resolution that was moved by the Speaker at the request of the house and the resolution was unanimously endorsed by the house," he said.

The adopted resolution passed in the house rejects Pakistan's interference in India's internal affairs.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley earlier in the day criticized the Pakistan Parliament's resolution condemning the hanging of Afzal Guru, saying that India must stop its dialogue with Pakistan.

"Pakistan has crossed all limits. All dialogues with them should be stopped," he said.

He said the resolution confirms New Delhi's worst fears that the Parliament attack conspiracy was hatched across the border.

Saying that the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has been magnanimous in normalizing the relations with Islamabad, Jaitley said New Delhi should forget the dialogue process with the neighbour.

"If India can be kicked around in this manner internationally, there is something seriously wrong with how we are managing our affairs," Jaitley told the parliament, referring to the tension with Pakistan and Italy's refusal to send back two marines to face murder charges for shooting two Kerala fishermen.

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha said that by passing the resolution, Pakistan has justified the attacks on the Indian parliament, which is unacceptable.

"The Pakistani parliament by passing this resolution has interfered in our domestic affairs. They have given encouragement to terrorists and clearly said that the attack on Indian parliament was justified. This is something which parliament of India should not accept," said Sinha.

Echoing similar sentiments, BJP chief Rajnath Singh said that there is a need to adopt a strong policy against Pakistan and its actions.

"The central government needs to register strong protest against Pakistan in the international arena. They needs to adopt a strict policy towards Pakistan," Singh told media in Jaipur.

Two days before it completes its five-year term, the Pakistan National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, passed the resolution moved by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who heads a special parliamentary panel on Kashmir.

Besides condemning the February 9 hanging of Afzal Guru, the resolution expressed concern at the situation created in Jammu and Kashmir by the execution. The House called for Guru's body to be handed over to his family. Guru was hanged and buried within Tihar Jail in Delhi.

His execution triggered protests in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan-based terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed have vowed to take revenge for the execution. The parliamentary resolution said the international community should not remain silent spectators in efforts to find a solution to the Kashmir dispute.

It said steps should be taken to implement the United Nations Security Council's resolutions on the Kashmir issue.

The resolution called for an end to alleged killings in Jammu and Kashmir and the removal of the army from towns and cities of the Kashmir Valley.