Senate body condemns Ghani’s anti-Pakistan statement

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Interior on Friday strongly condemned and rejected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s irresponsible and anti-Pakistan statement on Twitter and demanded of President Ashraf Ghani to withdraw his irresponsible statement immediately and tender apology.

The meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior was held on Friday in Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Abdul Rehman Malik and was attended by Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi, Senator Muhammad Azam Khan Swati and Senator Muhammad Yaqoob Nasar and senior officials from Ministry of Interior, Religious Affairs, Law and Justice, Chairman, DG and other officials from Nadra.

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior in its meeting today strongly condemned the anti-Pakistan tweet of Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani. Terming it highly irresponsible, Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator A. Rehman Malik asked the government of Pakistan to register a serious protest with the government of Afghanistan and demand from President Ashraf Ghani to withdraw his irresponsible statement immediately and tender apology.

He said that he would like to remind Afghan President Ashraf Ghani a meeting between the then Prime Minister of Pakistan and then Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul where Ashraf Ghani was also present as NSA and he then as Interior Minister of Pakistan.

He said during the meeting he proved the Afghan Intelligence interference in Balochistan and KP with solid proofs. He said he knows about the RAW-NDS Nexus active against Pakistan with a different mode this time.

He said in the said meeting President Hamid Karzai had to say that first settle with USA to end this interference and then we would stop funding the camps of Brahumdagh Bugti who was then accommodated by you next to presidential palace.

Senator A. Rehman Malik moved a resolution which was unanimously adopted by the Committee. He read the Resolution as, “The Senate Standing Committee on Interior strongly condemns and rejects Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s irresponsible and anti-Pakistan statement on Twitter, which is factually baseless and a gross interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan. Pakistan is passing through serious security threats, as terrorists groups are being sponsored and energised from the other side of the border. Pakistan has been persistently and with full sincerity supporting Afghanistan in their most difficult movements and has been hosting more than 3 million Afghanis since last three decades. The present role of Pakistan in peace process is being recognised internationally whereas the Tweet of President Ashraf Ghani is a clear interference in our internal affairs and it is self-confession of President Ghani in promoting violence in Pakistan.

The Committee unanimously calls upon the government of Pakistan to register a serious protest with the government of Afghanistan and demand President Ashraf Ghani to withdraw his irresponsible statement immediately and tender apology to the people of Pakistan.”

Senator Javed Abbasi said that President Ashraf Ghani is pack and parcel of Indian spy agency RAW and he is playing in India hands against Pakistan.

He said the President Ashraf Ghani is well exposed after this statement that he is working for India against Pakistan. “Actually President Ashraf Ghani is annoyed for being ignored in peace talk so by his tweet, he wanted to divert people attentions”, said Senator Javed Abbasi.

Senator Abdul Rehman Malik said that the people of Pakistan and Afghan have special relationship of love and care as Pakistan is still hosting Afghan migrants on our soil adding President Ashraf Ghani should better look into sufferings of his own Afghanis first and facilitate them to return to their homeland instead of interfere in Pakistan by showing fake sympathies.

Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Interior Senator A. Rehman Malik informed the committee that on Thursday he has taken suo-moto notice of the issue of hundreds of Pakistani pilgrimages (Zaireen) stranded at Pak-Iran border, Taftan Balochistan. He said that he was informed that around 1200 pilgrims were stranded for the last two weeks at the Iran-Pakistan border due to lack of security needed to escort their buses to Quetta.

He said he talked to IG FC Balochistan South Region Major General Saeed Ahmed Nagra and Director FIA who assured him of full facilitation to the stranded pilgrims.

He said that lives of Zaireen including women and children remain at high risk due to spending nights under the cold sky without proper shelter, food and drinking water. He directed the Federal and Provincial authorities to make immediate arrangements for rescue of Pakistani Zaireen from Taftan and a detail report on the matter of Pakistan Zaireen stranded at Taftan should be sent to the Committee immediately for further necessary action.

He directed that the Ministry of Religious Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior, government of Balochistan and concerned authority must formulate and finalise a plan to regulate and facilitate the Zaireen on the model Haj pilgrims are being regulated and facilitated.

He said there should be Ziarat Policy like the existing Haj Policy.

The Ministry of Religious Affairs informed the Committee that in coordination with Ministry of Interior they will finalise the proposed plan soon and will share it with the Committee.

The Senate Committee also discussed Sahiwal incident wherein found people including three members of the same family were killed by CTD officials on January 19, 2019. He said this Committee will follow the case till its logical conclusion and satisfaction of the victim families.

The Committee also considered and discussed in detail the point of public importance raised by Senator Muhammad Yaqoob Nasar regarding hurdles faced by the people in issuance of CNIC.

Senator A. Rehman Malik directed the chairman Nadra to facilitate the people during their process of registration and they must not be discriminated for any identity.

The chairman Nadra explained rules and regulations for public that their identity could be proved before issuance of CNIC.