ISLAMABAD: Days after heightened tensions brought Pakistan and India two nuclear-armed rivals to the brink of a full-blown war, a PPP lawmaker on Wednesday welcomed the ceasefire but said it should not be the conclusion but the beginning of a long overdue reckoning in the region.

`It should be a reckoning where truth triumphs over propaganda, dialogue triumphs over hatred and where sovereignty is respected, not violated,` former federal minister Shazia Marri said while speaking in the National Assembly.

`We are relieved that de-escalation has prevailed over confrontation,` she remarked and stressed that Pakistan has never desired war. `We have never wished our region to be engulfed in violence. Yet when provoked, we responded with precision, responsibility and dignity, never targeting civilians and violating international law`, she said.

She said Pakistan not only acted as a sovereign state but also as a responsible member of the international community committed to the UN Charter and its own constitution. She praised the friends in the region and beyond who called for restraint and dialogue.

The PPP leader particularly praised the United Nations and the US for playing a non-partisan and constructive role in defusing tension. `For the first time in history, they were not leaning towards the aggressor and not leaning towards a country that is doing injustice in the region and acting like a bully and rogue state,` Shazia Marrinoted.

She said Islamabad proved that it deserved attention. `We remain committed to de-escalation and dialogue. But let the world and India know, if provoked again, we will respond with the same resolve, restraint and strength,` she declared.

The former federal minister observed that this was also a moment that demandsgreater political unity. `In times of national security, there can be no room for ambiguity, no space for silence and no tolerance for opportunism,` she said.

In what left many guessing who the target was, she said any individual or party that fails to stand with Pakistan must answer to the people. `Those who lack the courage to condemn the external aggression cannot claim the right to lead the nation,` she remarked.

`In moments like these, our political differences must give way to national duty. This is not the time for our personal politics. This is the time for Pakistan,` she exhorted.

`We stand for peace with honour, for justice without compromise and rights of every Pakistani,` she said.

Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry earlier held Indian proxies operating in Pakistan responsible for the fresh wave of terrorism in the country. Responding to a callingattention notice, he said no new military operation was being launched.

He said the terrorists decide the areas where they plan to target innocent civilians and armed forces. He said they are chased wherever they carry out terrorist activity or have safe havens. He said space was being shrunk for the terrorists as an action against them was demanded by the entire nation. The National Assembly was informed that approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees have been repatriated from Pakistan so far.

Responding to a question during the question hour, Parliamentary Secretary Mukhtar Ahmad Malik informed that around three million Afghan refugees had been residing in Pakistan. Of them, 813,000 hold Afghan Citizen Cards, while 1.3 million possess Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.

He stressed that under the One Document Regime, Afghan nationals who wish to enter Pakistan for medical treatment, education or business are welcome, provided they obtain the appropriate visa and carry valid documentation.