ISLAMABAD - The opposition in the Senate on Monday asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to take the house into confidence on the controversy arising out the Indian refusal to start peace talks with Pakistan besides on other important issues of foreign policy.
Former Chairman Senate and PPP stalwart Mian Raza Rabbani on a point of order raised the issue and said that some recent actions of the PTI-led government and developments suggested that perhaps the new government wanted to re-align its foreign policy. “We are seeing signs of foreign policy turnaround,” he said.
Rabbani said that this re-alignment could not be made without the approval of the parliament. He demanded of the prime minister to take the house into confidence to clear the dust on the issue ranging from India’s refusal to start dialogue process to his recent visit to Saudi Arabia.
Coming down hard on Imran Khan’s government for its actions on the recent developments, Raza Rabbani questioned how the prime minister in response to the letter of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Pakistan was ready to discuss all issues with India including terrorism. “Everyone knows the stance of India on terrorism,” he said adding that India had been alleging that Pakistan was harbouring terrorism in Indian Held Kashmir (IHK).
“First of all; I on behalf of the house condemn in strongest words the statement of India army chief,” Rabbani said in the start. He added that Pakistan would not bow before such hollow threats of India. He said that if this war was imposed on Pakistan, the whole nation would fight it with full force. “I was in two minds to bring the resolution or not against the statement of Indian army chief. But I thought that the army chief was dealt by Indian defence ministry, so passing of the resolution would be degrading the house.”
The day the present government came into power, we are hearing only one thing that there should be a dialogue with India while India is violating all human rights, using pallet bullets and people of India Held Kashmir are being attacked, the seasoned PPP lawmaker said.
Rabbani regretted that US and India jointly issued a joint communiqué during the visit of US Secretary of State to India while no such joint statement was issued during Mike Pompeo’s visit to Pakistan.
About the Foreign Office’s explanation over the issuance of postal stamp in the memory of martyred Kashmiri youth Burhan Wani, Rabbani said that whether the government wanted to disown the stamp that was issued to commemorate the indigenous freedom movement of IHK.
The FO had explained that these tickets were issued by the last caretaker set-up. “In the light of this stance, the question arises who are these hidden powers which are being tried to please,” he said and answered in the same breath that all knew who these powers were.
He said that Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce in a statement said that let the project of China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) be put on hold for a year. Later, the adviser gave the denial only saying that he was quoted out of the context instead of disowning the statement.
He said that one of the members of Prime Minister Khan’s cabinet during the recent visit of Saudi Arabia said they had offered the country to make a city of oil in Gwadar. He further said that if the government had made this offer to Saudi Arabia on some one’s dictation. “From where the government is taking the dictations,” he said.
He said that if the new government was talking about transparency, then it should bring all details of its recent visit of Saudi Arabia before the parliament.
Rabbani said that US had given a role to India in the region but they would not allow it to become policeman of the region as some forces wanted to see it in this role.
BNP-Mengal Senator Jahenzeb Jamalidi also cast his doubts over the decision of the PTI government to permit Saudi Arabia to build up an oil city in Gwadar. He explained that Pakistan wanted to hand over its oil terminals to the Kingdom by making it partner in CPEC. He said that it looked that a conflict is being generated against Iran in the region and Pakistan was going to become part of new re-alignment and added that there was a need to take the house into confidence on the issue.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry in his response to the remarks of Raza Rabbani said the government was really thankful to the response of opposition parties over the statement of Indian army chief. He said that all political parties had showed unity at this front while setting aside their differences. “We are in a reconciliatory mode because there will be destruction everywhere if the two nuclear states fight with each other.”
The minister said that dialogue was the best option. “Prime Minister’s vision is that there are hundreds of thousands of poor people on both sides and we should raise them above poverty line…We want peace.”
He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was under fire for his alleged involvement in the French Rafale fighter jet scandal and thus the Indian ruling elite wanted to deflect the attention of their masses from the issue. He said that Pakistan stood by the freedom fighters of Held Kashmir.
He added that the postal stamp of Burhan Wani reflected the view that Pakistan considered him a freedom fighter.
Responding to a calling attention notice regarding visa problems being faced by the Pakistanis living in Kuwait, Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari said that 114,000 Pakistanis were living in Kuwait and out of these, 88000 were labour force. In 2011, Kuwait banned visas for Pakistanis along with Iraq, Iran, Syria, Bangladesh, Yemen and Afghanistan. She said that Kuwait was of the view that visa facilities were being misused and people of these countries were involved in drug trafficking.
On the other hand, Indian citizens are getting visas in large numbers and other privileges, Dr Mazari said. She said that the last two prime ministers had requested the Ameer of Kuwait to lift these visa restrictions.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi will also raise this issue in a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart on the sidelines of UNGA session, she said. She added that Pakistan was also going to raise this issue in the joint ministerial meeting with Kuwait scheduled to be held on September 27 and 28.Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Mohammad Khan, responding to another call attention notice, said that the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in its report had not declared Balochistan as the poorest province in the world. Meanwhile, five lawmakers participated in debate on the Finance Supplementary (Amendment) Bill, 2018.