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Sartaj dispels impression only army working

ISLAMABAD: Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz told the Senate Committee of the Whole on Wednesday it is wrong to state that only the armed forces had a role in the Operation Zarb-e-Azb and the government and political parties had not.

He said the infrastructure of non-state actors had almost been destroyed in North Waziristan and unregistered and irregular seminaries were being closed. He said the government does not discriminate between the non-state actors when it comes to formulate policy. He said this government has given a better performance in two-and-a-half years compared to the preceding 10 years.

He said the government was fully alive and actively facilitating the armed forces in the ongoing operation against the militants, as senators strongly advocated zero tolerance for the banned outfits and their facilitators.

He said the National Action Plan (NAP) was formed in consultation with all the political parties. The recent by-election in Jhang also echoed during the meeting, which was seen as a failure of the much-talked about NAP. The son of the founder of a banned outfit and its active member got elected as an MPA.

The forum met here at the Parliament House and was initially given in-camera briefing by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and Sartaj Aziz on key national matters with special reference to the ongoing situation on the Line of Control and the border with India and its repeated violations.

The committee deliberated on implementation of policy guidelines on relations, mainly between Pakistan and India. A senator pointed out that while India was using the latest technology, including laser and satellite gadgets on its border with Pakistan, Pakistan on the contrary was not taking special measures to secure its border with Afghanistan, from where among other troubles smuggling was in full swing.

Aziz said that information was being updated for the dossiers on Indian involvement in terrorist activities in Pakistan, adding measures were being taken for securing the Pak-Afghan border and to control the smuggling. He held out an assurance that parliament and the parliamentary committees would be consulted and apprised on the policies being formulated to this effect.

The briefing contained the factual position on the latest situation at the Line of Control (LOC) and the government’s stance and preparedness to combat such situations. “The violent non-state actors have acquired some mythical character as no one seems able to see them whenever they rear their heads and strike mysteriously, particularly at a time of peace overtures between India and Pakistan,” said PPP’s Senator Farhatullah Babar while speaking during the committee meeting.

Babar said that soon after former Indian PM Vajpayee’s 1998 visit to Lahore, the non-state actors climbed Kargil heights without being noticed by anyone. Within four days of President Asif Zardari’s offer of talks on no-first use of nuclear weapons, the militants struck Mumbai on November 26 again without being noticed, he said.

Within a week of Modi’s visit to Raiwind in December last year, he recalled, they struck at the Pathankot airport. “And only recently, the Jaish-e-Muhammad secured the Chinese support against the United Nations sanctions without being noticed by the Foreign Office or any agency,” he said.

He emphasised the state has to do something against these mythical elements who seem to adorn some ‘sulemani cap’ that makes them invisible to everyone. Babar contended that non-implementation of the National Action Plan was the grotesque failure of the government as the fourth schedulers among the non-state actors even take part in elections without being noticed. He said the policy guidelines also categorically stated ‘no room for non-state actors’ and ‘the soil of Pakistan not to be allowed by them’.

“This also meant that if there were allegations of our soil having been used for this purpose, then it must be investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice,” he said. However, he said neither the Mumbai attackers nor those who attacked the Pathankot air base had been chased to the logical conclusion. He said that the Senate had also recommended the setting up of a task force for formulating a doable and sustainable Pakistan’s policy on India and Kashmir but the government had only set up a committee under the foreign secretary and including representatives of some other ministries and rejected a committee that also included members of parliament.

“How a committee of bureaucrats be expected to recommend new options other than the standard ones they have been flaunting for decades,” he asked and noted that the Senate guidelines included ‘taking of politically difficult decisions to build mutual trust and confidence leading towards an honorable and amicable settlement of Kashmir issue’.

Babar said, “There is a need for a long term sustainable Kashmir policy which is honorable and doable and at the same time provided room for improving relations in other areas in a sustained manner.”

Senator Shery Rehman of PPP said the government was not clear about the constitution of the National Security Committee of parliament. She also noted the issue of Kulbhushan Yadav had not been taken up properly at the international fora.

She said that members of the banned outfits were coming to parliament after contesting the election and the organisations responsible for regulating them were doing nothing. Independent Senator Mohsin Leghari, during the open session, pointed out that the country was facing severe water shortages but no tangible measures were being taken to build reservoirs.

He said the Kashmir issue needed to be highlighted at the international level and the Indian stance of attributing Kashmir as its integral part must be contested and proved wrong. Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Federal Minister for Water and Power, said the government had decided to build the Bhasha Dam through own resources. He cautioned that Pakistan was moving towards water scarcity and said that if no new reservoirs were built, Pakistan would face an acute water shortage in next three-four years.

He noted a water conference was being convened to discuss the issues as this was the area, which needed to be focused. He assured the forum that the government was not only working to increase the electricity production but also on developing new water resources.

Senator Nauman Wazir of PTI pointed out that violations of the Indus Water Treaty by India needed to be taken up at international forums as the India had threatened to stop the water. “If India puts aside the treaty unilaterally, it would be tantamount to declaration of war against Pakistan,” he maintained.

PML-Q’s Senator Mushahid Hussasin Sayed said the parliamentarians volunteered to prepare the case of Pakistan to highlight its stance at the international level with regards to India’s bids to isolate Pakistan. He said that India was continuously creating problems for Pakistan internally and externally.

Senator Jehanzeb Jamaldini of BNP-Mengal said the banned outfits were operating after changing their names and action was not being taken against them. He added a comprehensive action plan needed to be devised to act promptly against these elements to overcome the menace of terrorism.

Senator Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah of PML-F said that the different committees formulated in response to the guidelines given by the Senate must have representation of parliamentarians. Aziz said that the present government initiated the Operation Zarb-e-Azb against terrorists and devised the National Action Plan in consultation with the political parties against terrorism.

He said that Pakistan wanted peaceful co-existence in the region and there was no point to be disappointed: he added the foreign ministry was making its best efforts for better relations with the world community. https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/170610-Sartaj-dispels-impression-only-army-working

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