Rabbani stops senators from visiting US

Delay in issuing visa to JUI-F senator

Senate chairman says no US delegation, diplomat or Congress member will be welcomed by the Senate of Pakistan till the issue resolved

ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of a delay in issuance of visa to the Deputy Chairman Senate Senator Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri by the US Embassy in Islamabad, Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani on Saturday cancelled the planned visit of senators to the US.

A two-member delegation, comprising Deputy Chairman Senate and PML-N Senator Lt. Gen. (retd) Salahuddin Tirmizi, was scheduled to travel to the US to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Union proceedings at the UN Headquarters in New York on February 13-14.

The move coincides with a US Federal Appeals Court’s judgment refusing to reinstate President Donald Trump’s ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations, which did not include Pakistan.

Rabbani has directed that no Senate delegation will visit the US unless an explanation for the delay in issuance of visa to the deputy chairman Senate is given by the US government/Embassy of the US in Pakistan.

“No delegation, member of Congress or diplomat of the US will be welcomed by the Senate of Pakistan, the Senate standing committees and senators in their official capacity till this issue is resolved,” he asserted.

Haideri has developed good relations with China and has been to the neighbouring country several times along with another party Senator Talha Mehmood.

“It goes without saying that the Chinese authorities know very well how important it is to have good ties with Maulana Fazlur Rehman’s party and other religious parties with regard to CPEC, as JUI-F commands influence both in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” said a JUI-F senator requesting anonymity.

The JUI-F has five senators in the Upper House of Parliament.

However, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency claimed that the US Embassy had issued a visa to Senator Salahuddin Tirmizi without citing reasons for denying visa to Mr. Haideri.

US Embassy spokeswoman Sharlina Hussain Morgan was quoted by the news agency as saying: “We don’t comment on individual visa cases.”