ISLAMABAD: The Defence Ministry refused on Monday to share details of CIA chief’s visit to Pakistan with the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee.

The committee had asked for details of the visit of CIA Director John Brennan to Pakistan in the last week of February for meetings with Army Chief Gen Raheel Sharif and ISI Director General Lt Gen Zaheerul Islam.

The committee had initially asked the Foreign Office on the CIA chief’s visit at the last meeting on March 18. However, the issue was deferred after the FO said the matter was out of its purview and later defence ministry was asked to furnish the information.

Foreign affairs and defence have long remained the exclusive domain of the military and to some extent the executive, but parliament, amid a newly felt sense of supremacy over other state organs, is testing its limits, and the call for information on the CIA visit was part of that process.

“There is no information that can be shared with the committee,” Defence Secretary retired Lt Gen Asif Yasin Malik told the panel.

He said he was appearing before the committee to express his deference for the Senate body. He, however, said that Brennan’s visit was a routine visit and part of regular exchanges.

“The focus of discussions during the confidential CIA visit remained on exchange of intelligence on hardcore intelligence related issues,” Mr Malik said in a written statement placed before the members.

The position taken by the defence ministry, nevertheless, satisfied the curious members, who no further insisted on pursuing the matter.

BAHRAIN: The Foreign Office, meanwhile, in a rare figure shared with Senate panel said about 10,000 Pakistan regulars were serving in Bahrain’s defence forces.

Additional Secretary Foreign Office Naela Chohan said the visit of Bahrain King Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to Joint Services Headquarters, during his trip to Pakistan in March, was on Bahrain’s request.

She said Pakistan had desired a Free Trade Agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and better relations with Riyadh and Manama could help Pakistan achieve that objective.

Senator Farhatullah Babar, meanwhile, said that he would take the government word that Pakistani servicemen would not be deployed in the Middle East, but demanded an assurance that delivery of weapons through irregular channels would be checked and movement of militants would also be disallowed.