The Senate Committee of the Whole on Monday reviewed a policy guidelines draft prepared by the Senate Drafting Committee to help government deal with the situation arising after the United States President Donald Trump's tough talk against Pakistan. The committee which met here with Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani in the chair was given a detailed briefing by Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, a member of the sub-committee tasked to finalise the draft report.
The committee is scheduled to meet again today (Tuesday) to finalise the draft recommendations which will then be adopted by the House on Wednesday. The National Assembly is also going to adopt a similar resolution on Wednesday after which resolutions and input of both the Houses will be placed before the National Security Council to chalk out a clear policy guideline in the wake of Trump's recent diatribe against Pakistan.
On request of the foreign minister, the proceedings of the committee were later held in-camera. Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said the opinion of National Assembly should also be included in the draft prepared by the Senate Drafting Committee. He said that both the Houses could also pass their separate resolutions, but it would be better if the National Assembly supports the policy guidelines prepared by the Upper House.
America is not willing to accept Pakistan's stance about India that the latter is involved in terrorism activities in Pakistan through Afghanistan, said the minister. The foreign minister said that America thinks that India has been increasing its trade with Afghanistan and this would ultimately help bring economic stability in the region.
Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed briefed the committee about recommendations of a sub-committee of the Upper House that was constituted to prepare proposals regarding the policy guidelines to be given in response to Trump's South Asian-Afghan strategy.
The Senator suggested the government to constitute a permanent Inter-Ministerial Task Force for an immediate response to any emergency situation like the one has arisen after the US policy shift regarding Pakistan. Pakistan should use the Quadrilateral Counterterrorism Coordination Mechanism (QCCM) forum to neutralize the US concerns and tough talk about Pakistan, he said.
Mushahid Hussain Sayed said the government should also prepare a fact sheet about the financial aid received from the United States as the latter has also recorded the funds given under the head of expenditures incurred during the military operations in the war against terror in the Coalition Support Fund. Pakistan has suffered billions of dollars losses in the war against terrorism and the US aid to Islamabad is just a peanut with respect to the losses, he said.
He also proposed the government to give a regional response to the United States with the help of Turkey, Russia and China. The senator said that statements of the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson after the Trump's policy statement were also not positive; adding the foreign minister has done a good decision by postponing the visit to the United States.
The senators also urged the government to chalk out a crystal clear strategy regarding Afghanistan, United States and war on terror, besides presenting the country's sacrifices in the war against terror at the international level.
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