ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs witnessed a heated debate on Thursday after lawmakers of the opposition and the ruling party questioned the presence of members of banned outfits in the country.

The committee was briefed by Foreign Secretary Aizaz Chau­dhry on the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan over the issue of Kashmir. It was also briefed by some of the parliamentarians who were recently nominated by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to highlight the Kashmir issue at the international level.

Informing the committee about his talks with French authorities on the issue of Indian atrocities in held Kashmir, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA Rana Mohammad Afzal admitted that he found it difficult to explain to think tanks in France about the presence of Jamaatud Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan and his role vis-à-vis Kashmir.

“They [think tanks] would repeatedly ask me about Hafiz Saeed and I found it difficult to support his role in Pakistan and Kashmir. I am surprised that despite my 25-year-long career in politics, I have not seen him in Pakistan, but he is much-talked about personality at the international level,” he said.

Pointing his finger at the foreign secretary, Rana Afzal said: “I don’t know what is the contribution of Hafiz Saeed towards the promotion of the cause of Kashmir? Why our foreign policy has failed to dissociate itself from the impression of Hafiz Saeed?

Visibly perturbed by the tirade, committee chairman Sardar Awais Laghari intervened to stop the angry PML-N lawmaker, but the latter continued and asked: “Which eggs is Hafiz Saeed laying for us that we are nurturing him?” He said a majority of intelligentsia in Paris understood that Kashmir was a land dispute between India and Pakistan.

“We have to eradicate the sou­rces because of which India is weakening our case on Kashmir,” he suggested.

Seconded by the Pakistan Peo­ples Party’s Dr Nafisa Shah, the PML-N lawmaker demanded act­ion against non-state actors, arguing that the presence of such elements had only caused damage to the Kashmir cause and they were a source for embarrassment for Pakistan at the international level.

The foreign secretary reiterated the government’s stance that there was no room for non-state actors in the country and said the international community had now started acknowledging Pakistan’s anti-terror steps. He suggested that the government nominate more parliamentarians to effectively highlight the Indian atrocities in held Kashmir because the Foreign Office alone could not counter Indian propaganda.

“This is the reason we all are here to discuss as to what should be our foreign approach to Kashmir. Parliamentarians can be good ambassadors and can counter Indian propaganda,” the foreign secretary said.

Meanwhile, in an email sent to this reporter, Rana Afzal denied he had sought any action against Hafiz Saeed. However, he acknowledged to have said that: “His [Hafiz Saeed’s] optics gives India an opportunity to blackmail Pakistan internationally. If he is of no benefit to Pakistan then why we allow his optics and visibility to bring loss to Pakistan?”

The reporter works for DawnNews

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2016