The lawmakers in Senate on Tuesday once again lambasted the government for not sharing the details of former Army Chief General Raheel's appointment as head of Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance with parliament. The MPs questioned why the government permitted the former army chief to proceed to Saudi Arabia if the terms of reference (ToRs) are yet to be finalized, besides making it crystal clear to the government that any alliance against Iran will be resisted by the Parliament.
They maintained that the Parliament must be informed who exactly framed Pakistan's foreign policy, as the House took up the opposition's lengthy agenda for the 264th session. Advisor to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made a policy statement in Senate with a particular reference to the recent visit of chairman of US Armed Services Committee to first North Waziristan and then to Kabul, and ToRs of the Riyadh-based military alliance and its impact on Pakistan in the light of permission given to Raheel Sharif to head it.
He said as soon as the ToRs are finalised and received, these will be placed before the Parliament. He said the former chief of army staff was presently performing advisory role and not heading any troops there. Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani questioned why Sharif was in Saudi Arabia if he was not leading any army yet. Lawmakers also wanted to know the reason why the former army chief had been sent to Saudi Arabia if the ToRs are still unclear.
Rabbani asked how the government had deemed it okay to send a former army chief - who has knowledge of the country's nuclear secrets - to a sensitive area without even knowing what he would be doing there. "What if the ToRs are not in the interests of Pakistan's national security? What will you do then? You have already sent Raheel Sharif to Saudi Arabia," he questioned.
PPP' s Senator Farhatullah Babar asked why Raheel Sharif had announced 10 months prior to his retirement that he would not be looking for an extension in his tenure as army chief. He asked, "What was the purpose of making the announcement in advance, particularly if no offers had been made to him at that point." He also asked whether Raheel Sharif wished to signal his availability after retirement to Saudi Arabia and whether the announcement was made for the benefit of the Saudi leadership.
About the support to the militant groups, he said that the Foreign Office was quick to welcome the recent UN decision to list Jamaat ul Ahrar (JuA) as a terrorist outfit but on the other hand has been asking China to block UN move to sanction Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM) whenever such a move came up before the world body. ANP Senator Ilyas Bilour said Pakistani lawmakers would not allow any sectarian conflict in the country while asserting that ToRs against Iran would not be acceptable. He cautioned that the future generations would be in great peril if there would ever be a sectarian conflict.
Senator Tahir Hussain Mashhadi of MQM said that the advisor's briefing was what they had been reading in newspapers. He said that Pakistan's Parliament will accept ToRs, which will envisage elimination of Israel and liberation of Al-Quds, Palestine and Kashmir. PPP's Taj Haider said that the US always preferred friendship to safeguard its own interests and that it used friends' forces to achieve its objectives. "Any agreement by the United States or its friendship lasts only till the US interests are served," he said.
PTI's Azam Swati strongly opposed Pakistan's role in the Riyadh-based alliance and warned it was an attempt to put up an artificial threat to Iran to trigger sectarian strife. Earlier, Aziz said Pakistan was taking indiscriminate action against all terrorist groups in the best national interest. He was responding to a motion moved by 30 senators about the implications of the statement of Chairman of US Armed Services Committee in Kabul soon after his visit to Pakistan.
He contended that Senator John McCain led a five-member delegation during his visit to Pakistan early this month and he held meetings with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Chief of the Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa. He said the visiting delegation was briefed about Pakistan's initiative for the elimination of terrorism from the country and making the Pak-Afghan border more secure. Aziz explained that the delegation was impressed by the steps taken by Pakistan against terrorists and the members also lauded Pakistan's contribution towards elimination of terrorism from the region.
He said when the delegation visited Afghanistan then they were briefed by Afghan authorities about their reservations. He said the statement made by the Chairman US Armed Services Committee was in response to the briefing by Afghanistan. Responding to another motion regarding ToRs, Aziz said that the 41-member Islamic Military Alliance has not yet been finalised. He said the TORs would be finalised through a consultative mechanism of the member countries at the defence ministers level meeting.
Senator Mushahidullah Khan of ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) came down hard on opposition MPs, especially those belonging to PPP and PTI in Senate, who accused the government of framing flawed foreign policy as well as secretly allowing former Army Chief General Raheel Sharif to head the 41-nation alliance. The PML-N firebrand literally shouted at Senator Azam Swati of PTI, Colonel Syed Tahir Mashhadi (retd) of MQM-Pakistan, accusing the former of indulging in mudslinging as taught by his leader Imran Khan, and the latter of maligning others by forgetting the 'murders and extortions' by his former leader Altaf Hussain.
"I can speak for hours on what Colonel Mashhadi used to do on the orders of his former leader Altaf Huassain. And the PPP must not forget their foreign policy when Salala attack took place; when America intruded into Pakistan's territory to hunt down Osama bin Laden, and what Hussain Haqqani (a former PPP ambassador to US) used to do against Pakistan who is now called a traitor by Zardari," he retorted.
This prompted the opposition MPs to confront the PML-N stalwart in protest, declaring his behaviour inappropriate, but he responded in a more harsh tone, shouting at enraged opposition MPs to have some patience to listen to, as their governments had no good track record. However, Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani intervened to control the situation. Speaking on the issue, Leader of the Opposition in Senate Aitzaz Ahsan said that the Sharif family has nothing to do with the foreign policy, as their sole purpose is to strengthen relations with the royals of the Gulf States.
"The reason they give a damn to foreign policy of the country is reflective in the recent developments when a Qatari prince wrote a letter to save the Sharifs in Panama Leaks case. The Prime Minister is not going to appoint a full-time foreign minister, as he is afraid that he will not have the opportunity to strengthen his ties with people like Bill Clinton, the Qatari prince, Saudi royals etc, if there is a full-time foreign minister," he regretted.
Speaking on the issue of missing persons, the MPs said that this practice of enforced disappearances should come to an end. They said that kidnapping of people under the pretext of national security has tarnished the image of the country, besides depriving people of a fair trial which is everyone's constitutional right.
Senator Farhatullah Babar of PPP said that more than any other state institution it is now the Senate that will be held responsible for failure to legislate for "bringing intelligence agencies under the ambit of the law".