ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Friday disclosed that the federal government had paid the blood money to the heirs of three people killed by United States Central Intelligence Agency contractor Raymond Davis in Lahore in 2011.

“But God knows from which account the amount had been paid,” he said while responding to a calling-attention notice in the Senate about revelations made by Davis in his book The Contractor.

Declaring that he would support an investigation into the release of the man if asked by parliament, Mr Asif said the probe, if it was to take place, should be conducted by parliament.

Minister says in Senate ready for inquiry by parliament

He termed the episode shameful and embarrassing for the nation and asserted the supremacy of parliament. Each institution should be answerable to parliament, he said.

The minister asked the chair to decide if an inquiry was to be conducted by parliament to ascertain as to who had compromised the dignity and honour of the country and if some individuals or institutions had received some benefits in return for releasing the killer of three youths.

Without naming anybody, he said there appeared to be a clear individual interest in honouring commitments made outside Pakistan or to strengthen his position. He opined that not institutions, but individuals appeared to have played a role in freeing Davis.

“The sensitive revelations made by Raymond Davis raise questions about the state institutions, the military, the courts and the government and of course the then president of Pakistan,” Senator Hafiz Hamdullah said.

He said that the spy who got off scot-free after shooting dead two men and crushing another under his vehicle had revealed in his book how the then US vice president John Kerry, president Asif Ali Zardari, ambassador to the US Hussain Haqqani, Inter-Services Intelligence chief Lt Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha and a court had played a role in his release.

The senator pointed out that those exposed in the book had not come up with a clarification on what role they had exactly played in the saga.

He also quoted Davis’s claim that the search for Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden would not have been possible without his release.

The Election Bill 2017, already passed by the National Assembly, was also introduced in the Senate. The chair referred it to the relevant standing committee of the house with the directive to present its report on the first day of next session.

National security proposals

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani informed the members that a sub-committee tasked to finalise the recommendations on national security had prepared the draft, which would be discussed in a meeting of the Committee of the Whole House on Monday. The sub-committee had been formed after the recent threatening remarks of US President Donald Trump came under discussion.

Members were asked to give their proposals to improve the recommendations prepared by the committee, before their adoption by the house.

The Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf also raised the matter of propaganda unleashed by former ambassador Haqqani. The issue was raised by Senator Mohsin Aziz on a point of order, but the chairman observed that the man did not deserve to be discussed in the upper house of parliament.

He said that after coming to know that he had been discussed in the Senate, Mr Haqqani would use it to please his bosses in Washington.

He pointed out that the Pakistan Peoples Party had disowned Mr Haqqani a long time ago.

In a written reply to a question about the non-Nato ally status given to Pakistan by the US, the foreign minister said that in March 2004, former secretary of state Colin Powell said during a visit to Pakistan that he had brought a message from the American people and president George Bush that his country wished to have long-term bilateral relations and to cement the bonds of friendship. Appreciating the role of Pakistan in combating terrorism, controlling extremists and making efforts towards nuclear non-proliferation, he declared that the US had given Pakistan the status of a non-Nato ally. He elaborated that the US considered Pakistan an important and major ally outside the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which would lead to greater military cooperation between the two countries. Mr Powell stated that the US government had made a notification to the Congress that would designate Pakistan as a major non-Nato ally. In June 2004, the US administration received the endorsement of the Congress, which completed the legal procedure required to declare Pakistan a non-Nato ally.

Asked if there was any plan to revisit the terms and conditions, he said there were no conditions attached to the designation. It was a reflection of the desire of both countries to strengthen cooperation and maintain long-term closer and friendly relations, he said.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2017