New US Afghan policy: Parliament, govt, military on same page

ISLAMABAD: Both the Houses of Parliament, government and the military leadership on Wednesday came on one page while rejecting the United States’ new policy on South Asia and Afghanistan, and undermining of Pakistan’s role in the war against terrorism.

The National Assembly passed a resolution, categorically and unanimously rejecting the unacceptable targeting of Pakistan by US President Donald Trump, terming his policy hostile and threatening.

“The National Assembly unanimously rejects the unacceptable targeting of Pakistan by US President Trump and also rejects claims of General Nicholson, Nato Commander in Afghanistan, regarding existence of Taliban shuras in Quetta and Peshawar,” says the unanimous resolution signed by the leaders of all the government and opposition parties.

The resolution also rejected the assertion of the US president to give an increasing role to India in Afghanistan. “Given India’s known support to terrorism and its destabilising policies in the region, this House condemns attempts by the Trump administration to provide more space to India in Afghanistan, and considers it a move highly detrimental to regional stability, and complete failure to understand existing ground realities and emerging challenges in the region,” the resolution said.

The resolution, moved by Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif on behalf of members of the Lower House, also condemned the Indian state-inflicted repression on the people of Indian Held Kashmir and reiterated Pakistan’s continued diplomatic, political and moral support for their struggle for self-determination.

The resolution also rejected the US claim of giving Pakistan billions of dollars in aid, saying that in fact Pakistan’s economy had suffered a loss of more than 123 billion dollars.It denounced the complete disregard and lack of respect for Pakistan’s immense sacrifices in countering terrorism, adding the fact that more than 70,000 Pakistanis had been victims of terrorism, a menace brought to the region four decades ago, has been totally ignored.

The National Assembly acknowledged the sacrifices of security forces in their counter-terrorism operation and expressed full support to the counter-terrorism operationbeing conducted by the armed forces of Pakistan along with the Rangers and law enforcement agencies.

The House reiterated that as a responsible nuclear weapons state, Pakistan has in place a robust and credible command and control system, which has been universally recognised.The National Assembly regarded President Trump’s and General Nicholson’s statement on Pakistan as hostile and threatening, and called upon the Government of Pakistan to express the determination of the people of Pakistan to protect Pakistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and considered postponement of any visits by US delegation to Pakistan or by Pakistani delegation and officials to the USA, and also consider suspension of cooperation with the US, particularly the provision of Ground and Air Lines of Communication (GLOCs/AALOCs) through Pakistan.

The House called upon the government to draw up and inform the US and the Afghan government of a blueprint for the return of all Afghan refugees in a dignified but specified timeframe.

The House maintained that the government should formulate economic policies to deal with any situation arising out of the absence of US assistance and commence a diplomatic initiative, particularly with friendly countries in the region, to inform the international community of Pakistan’s counter-terrorism strategy and successes and the repercussions on the region of the failed US Afghan policy.

It reiterated Pakistan’s determination to strengthen border control measures on the international border with Afghanistan and demand cooperation and similar action from Afghanistan and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).

The National Assembly expressed its serious concern over the increasing concentration of ISIS and other terrorism network in the Afghan provinces bordering Pakistan and demanded that Afghanistan, the US and its allies should close their borders to leaders of terrorist and militant group carrying out acts of terrorism against Pakistan.

It said the Afghan government should close all safe havens being provided to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and other terrorist organisations, from where terror attacks are being conducted against Pakistan.

The US, Nato and the Afghan government should ensure that India is denied the use of Afghan territory to conduct terrorist attacks against Pakistan.

The House reiterated its commitment to constructively engage with the US on the full spectrum of bilateral relation based upon the principle of reciprocity and mutual respect.

The House also reiterated Pakistan’s desire for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan and urged the government to continue its efforts for strengthening its relations with Afghanistan and support international efforts for peace and reconciliation.

Earlier, taking part in the debate on the US policy, members from both sides of the aisle in the National Assembly made it clear on the American leadership that their one-way policy against an important country of the region would not work any longer.

“The message of US President Trump for Pakistan is insulting and a matter of concern for us and we should take it seriously, telling the US leadership that we desire two-way cooperation which should be based on equality,” former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said.

The members from the government and opposition benches, while discussing President Trump’s policy, maintained that the whole the Pakistani nation, civil and military leadership were on the same page and united to defend the country’s interests in the wake of the US president’s policy in which he also announced to provide more space to India in Afghanistan.

Opposition Leader Syed Khursheed Shah, Ch Nisar Ali Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Federal Minister Lt-Gen Abdul Qadir Baloch, Sahibzada Tariqullah, Dr Farooq Sattar, Maulana Amir Zaman, Ali Muhammad Khan, Khusro Bakhtiar, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad and others took part in the debate.

Khursheed Shah and Ch Nisar were unanimous that a joint session of parliament should be summoned to give more effective and stronger message to the United States that the whole nation is united to safeguard the national interests and the country’s sovereignty.

Ch Nisar said that mere passage of resolutions in parliament to stop continued criticism against Pakistan would not work, rather it needed a major overhaul and correction of the entire US narrative towards Pakistan. “A joint statement having parliament, Foreign Office and other stakeholders should be given in the shape of a declaration and a message,” he said, adding that parliament should act as custodian on it.

The former interior minister also objected to direct meetings of the US assistant secretary of state with the prime minister, army chief and foreign minister, saying that the US official should meet his counterpart here like secretary or additional secretary foreign affairs.

He said that the country was facing the present situation due to the wrong policies when national interests were compromised for the sake of dollars, to prolong rule while succumbing to threats.

He also took a strong exception to the assertion of the US president that Pakistan was responsible for failures in Afghanistan. “Every US policy in Afghanistan had failed but not because of Pakistan,” Nisar said, questioning whether the US government asked Pakistan before landing in Afghanistan.

He pointed out that the US leadership was following a policy of hypocrisy on the issue of dialogue with the Taliban. “They foil our attempts of dialogue with the Taliban but do the same when it suits them,” he said.

However, he said, Pakistan should not indulge in confrontation rather the situation should be tackled with arguments.

He questioned the US civil and military leadership as to why they could not see safe havens of terrorists in Afghanistan, saying that there are no hideouts of miscreants in Pakistan. “As to why you did not talk about the safe havens in Pakistan when you were giving dollars to a dictator,” he said, adding that proof of such hideouts should be given if there are any.

He stressed that Pakistan should point out safe havens in Afghanistan from where terror activities are being carried out on the Pakistani soil.

Ch Nisar also criticised the allegations of Donald Trump that the US had given billions of dollars to Pakistan. “After going through the official record, I have come to know that a little over $120 million on average were given annually in the last 10 years whereas Pakistan suffered a loss of over hundred billion dollars to its economy and in terms of its road network,” Nisar said.

He made it clear on the Trump administration that contrary to their allegations, the main destabilising factor in Afghanistan was the presence of India there, whereas Trump was announcing to give an increased role to India.

The opposition leader, while condemning the US policy, said that the threats being given by President Trump were also a result of the weak foreign policy pursued by the Pakistan government in the last four years.

He said that Nawaz Sharif, during his four years’ tenure as prime minister, also held the portfolio of the foreign minister but there was a big question mark as to what he did with his responsibilities.

Feeling absence of foreign minister from the House during his speech, he said the opposition would not have any objection had the prime minister given this portfolio to Abid Sher Ali with the condition that he should deliver. “The foreign minister who is not present here should have kicked off the debate,” he said.

He also came hard on the issue of a letter written by the former high commissioner of Pakistan to India to Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Aizaz Chaudhry, terming it a failure of governance.

He asked the government to follow the past practice when hours long in-camera proceedings in presence of the military leadership were held twice during the last PPP tenure.

Khursheed Shah maintained that the PPP would not become a part of any policy which is against the national interests. “Instead of confrontation, we should follow the path of negotiations as wars at table are more effective than wars of weapons,” he said, adding that the diplomatic corps should be activated to achieve the desired results.

He said that any foreign policy should be devised keeping in view the country’s soft image, national interests and prevailing regional and international circumstances.

PTI’s senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Pakistan and its nation had paid a heavy price for the war against terrorism.

Commenting on the US policy regarding the increased role of India in the region, the former foreign minister said that peace in Afghanistan could not come through New Delhi. He said that Islamabad for a long time had been articulating peace and stability in Afghanistan and had always maintained Pakistan would not allow the use of its soil against any other country.

On the allegation that the US administration had been giving billions of dollars to Pakistan, he said that as then foreign minister, he was aware of the fact that it’s highly difficult for the country to secure the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) with peanut amount.

He praised the present government’s policy of planned visits of the foreign minister to Russia, China and Turkey, saying that the minister should also visit Iran.

Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who winded up the debate, said that the whole nation and national institutions were united and on the same page to brave out and reject allegations of President Trump.

He said the armed forces had implemented the resolve of the government against terrorism and now the country was secure to a great extent but a superpower was bent upon holding Pakistan responsible for its failures in Afghanistan.

He recalled that during Musharraf’s tenure, the government allowed war of aliens in Pakistan’s territory and Pakistan’s airbases were given to the United States. “Musharraf did so to get support of a superpower to prolong his rule,” the foreign minister said, adding that the Pakistani nation was facing the consequences of Musharraf’s policies.

He said in order to neutralise the effects of threats to Pakistan’s security, during the last four to five years, the armed forces implemented the government’s resolve of securing the country and launched operations Zarb-e-Azb, Raddul Fasaad and four operations in Khyber Agency. “We also salute the sacrifices rendered by our security forces,” he said.

Federal Minister for Safron Abdul Qadir Baloch said the United States wanted to see India as a regional power.

He maintained that the struggle of the Kashmiri people in occupied territory was indigenous while, on the other hand, Pakistan had made public proofs of India’s interference, particularly after the arrest of Kulbhushan Jadhav. He made it clear that Pakistan and China are partners in the CPEC project and no other country ever had the right to interfere in the project.

Dr Farooq Sattar of the MQM asked that as to how long Pakistan would continue to receive demands of ‘do more’, saying that relations with the US should be based on respect.

Sahibzada Tariqullah, Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Shaikh Rasheed Ahmad, Awais Leghari, Maulana Amir Zaman and Khusro Bakhtiar said mere passage of resolutions would not serve the purpose, rather practical steps would have to be taken.

They said that sacrifices of Pakistanis should be acknowledged instead of accusing Pakistan of harbouring terrorists.

Awais Leghari said the PML-N government was properly taking care of the country’s sovereignty, and security.

He observed that speech of the US president was focused on India’s increasing role and the CPEC project.

Meanwhile, the Senate on Wednesday unanimously adopted a report of the Senate Committee of the Whole, recommending to the government to launch a regional diplomatic offensive to coordinate responses to US President Donald Trump’s new Afghan policy, which takes a dim view of Pakistan’s anti-terrorism efforts.

The Senate took the initiative immediately after Trump’s speech and the House committee was tasked to thrash out ‘policy guidelines’ (recommendations); both the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs were taken on board in this context.

“A regional diplomatic initiative should be taken to coordinate Pakistan’s response to Trump’s Afghan strategy in consultation with friendly countries to tell Americans that Pakistan’s perspective has a resonance regionally as well as globally particularly upcoming UNGA session,” said the report.

The Senate has recommended to the government to prepare a fact sheet on American assistance to Pakistan to clear the air on how much reimbursements had actually been received under the Coalition Support Fund.

“The fact sheet should also take account of the US failure to supply military hardware and aid on one pretext or the other and the losses incurred by Pakistan since the US war in Afghanistan,” the document stated.

The Senate, which converted itself into a Whole Committee of the House, devised the recommendations based on policy guidelines proposed by a six-member subcommittee. Rabbani said that the House had come up with the recommendations after discussions with defence and interior ministries.

After the recommendations were adopted, Rabbani directed that these be forwarded to all Pakistani embassies around the world. The recommendations were also sent to the National Assembly.

“It has been proven yet again that the Senate comes together proactively when it comes to matters of national security. The proposed enhanced role of India in Afghanistan would only accentuate the instability not only in Afghanistan but also in the broader region,” he believed.

Rabbani said that the matter would remain under constant review of the Senate, given its evolving nature, and the guidelines/ response would further shape up in the wake of emerging situation and developments.

He said that adoption of the unanimous policy guidelines reflected that parliament was responsive whenever a crisis-like situation exists, adding that all the stakeholders, including Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence, were taken on board to finalise the response and added that these consultations should continue under the umbrella of parliament.

PTI Senator Azam Swati said that Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Aizaz Chaudhry should be immediately called back and sacked for his failure to portray Pakistan’s viewpoint effectively before the US authorities.

PPP’s Senator Taj Haider stressed the need to evolve the mechanism to oversee the implementation of policy guidelines. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed of the PML-Q praised the Senate for this initiative and said these recommendations were a way forward for the government with regards to its foreign policy. He recalled how parliament had played its role in the wake of Salala post attack and then at the time of the Yemen crisis. He proposed these should be put before the joint sitting of parliament.

Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the recommendation about setting up a mutually verifiable mechanism to look into the allegations of cross-border incursions by militants between Pakistan and Afghanistan held the promise of moving forward. He stressed the need for implementing it urgently and honestly to put to rest mutual acrimony on this score.

The report suggests immediate steps that should be taken by Pakistan’s Foreign Office. It also says that Pakistan’s viewpoint should not only be conveyed to friendly countries, but also to the allies of the US.

It proposed that the Foreign Office should summon the US ambassador and convey Pakistan’s concerns, highlighted in the Senate, regarding Trump’s new policy.

A fact sheet of Pakistan’s contributions in the ‘war against terror’ should be presented to the US when the foreign minister visits that country. The House also appreciated the postponement of Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif’s visit to the US on the recommendation of the Senate.

A fact sheet of the US’s assistance to Pakistan should be immediately released, portraying the post 9/11 scenario as to how much assistance had been provided for the Coalition Support Funds, which are in fact reimbursements to Pakistan.

While discussing steps that need to be taken by Pakistan, the Senate committee recommended that a national policy paper should be created while keeping all stakeholders in mind to serve as a reference document for US policymakers.

“Pakistan should form a South Asia strategy that should be comprehensive,” the report recommends.The document also wants the security establishment to take note of the US plan to increase the number of its troops in Afghanistan and maintain their presence for an indefinite period.

Regarding Pakistan’s policy about Afghanistan, the document suggests that Pakistan should emphasise that no territory should be used against a neighbouring state and call for a focus on border management and security along the border.

The document also stresses the need for a mutually acceptable verification mechanism to look into the acrimonious allegations of cross-border violations that emanate from both Kabul and Islamabad.

It wants the government to effectively highlight the Indian interference in Pakistan and turn the spotlight on militants like Mullah Fazlullah and others, who are hiding in Afghanistan and operating against Pakistan. Similar allegations by Afghanistan need to be looked into more closely, the report says.

On Afghanistan, the report stated that Pakistan should emphasise that the territory of no state can be used for causing terrorist activities in any other state and particularly refer to TTP hideouts and sanctuaries in Afghanistan which operate freely.

“Pakistan should focus on its attempts on border management and security all along 2,600 km Pak-Afghan border, where some parts of the porous border are being fenced. If US President Trump can order fencing of the border with Mexico to ostensibly protect the US commerce, there is a far greater urgency to fence the Pak-Afghan border given the history of the region, Pakistan should maintain its principled stand that there is no military solution to the conflict in Afghanistan,” it added.

In this regard, Pakistan should reiterate the primacy of pursuing a politically negotiated settlement with the Afghan government in the lead, it said, adding that Pakistan would be willing to contribute in the shared objective of exterminating all forms of terrorism.

It proposed that Pakistan needs to present a clear dossier on India’s cross-border terrorism with names, dates and unimpeachable evidence, including the spy Kulbushan Jadhav case to focus on Indian actions to destabilise Pakistan, particularly using territory of Afghanistan, and such a dossier be presented to selected western capitals, especially Brussels and the UN headquarters.

Separately, civil and military leadership decided to keep a robust defence posture to ensure national security in a challenging environment created by US president’s narration regarding US policy toward South Asia and Afghanistan where he hurled baseless allegations and insinuation about Pakistan.

The decision has been taken in a meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) that had its gathering here at the Prime Minister Office (PMO) Wednesday under the chair of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. It was second such huddle in a week.

The participants were satisfied about the unity and ‘one-voice’ regarding the US’ hostile approach on the subject under discussion. In a significant step the committee decided to set up an interagency sub-committee to make specific proposals for consideration in the next meeting of the NSC along with the recommendations/ outcome of the forthcoming Envoys’ Conference of select missions scheduled for 5-7 September, 2017. The committee also finalised the list of the members of the sub-committee.

It indicates that the NSC has made up its mind to deliberate the situation on constant basis to ward off any threat if crops up in wake of the development. The prime minister took the members into confidence about the wide reaction against the assertions of the US president coming from across the country.

The sources told The News after the huddle that the committee has also decided to maintain high vigil against terror activities in the country. The NSC reviewed internal and external security situation and the threats and challenges to national security in the evolving regional and global context.

The Trump policy on South Asia was also discussed.

The meeting was attended by Minister for Defence Engineer Khurrum Dastgir Khan, Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar, Minister for Foreign Affairs Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Minister for Interior Ahsan Iqbal, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral Muhammad Zakaullah, Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, National Security Adviser (NSA) Lt-Gen (R) Nasser Khan Janjua, Director General ISI Lt-Gen Naveed Mukhtar, Secretary to the Prime Minister (SPM) Fawad Hasan Fawad, Foreign Secretary Ms Tehmina Janjua, heads of intelligence gathering outfits and senior civil and military officials.

He said Since NAB’s inception, one of its major achievements has been the recovery of around Rs287.763 billion of ill-gotten money which was deposited in the national exchequer which is a remarkable achievement of NAB.