The government on Friday informed the Senate that no proposal is under consideration to extradite Kulbhushan Yadav - a serving Indian navy officer held in Balochistan for spying - as an FIR is being prepared for registering a case to prosecute him. In response to a question by Senator Seher Kamran, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz categorically rejected that he had ever said that there was lack of evidence against Yadav.
"I never said that the spy [Yadav] will be released at some stage like Raymond Davis...there is no such possibility," he declared about the spy. The spy has confessed that he was working for notorious Indian Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) to create instability inside Pakistan, especially in Balochistan and Karachi.
Senator Kamran asked, "It has been exactly a year since the spy was arrested, but we are yet to be told whether or nor enough evidence and proof have been collected about his involvement in subversive activities in Pakistan." "Sartaj Aziz had said in the Senate on December 7 last year that there was not enough evidence available against him and then dossier was shared with the UN on December 31, 2016," she further asked.
But Aziz insisted he never said there was lack of enough evidence against the Indian spy rather evidences were being compiled against him, adding a questionnaire has been sent to Indian government and the government will proceed in light of it. He said Pakistan's stance that Indian state actors are involved in anti-Pakistan activities has received reasonable appreciation, adding a dossier had been shared with the UN secretary general in this regard.
To a question by Senator Muhammad Talha Mehmood of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) whether the spy awaits a similar 'red carpet' treatment like CIA operative Raymond Davis, Aziz replied firmly in negative. "This dossier includes details about Kulbhushan Yadav and his activities," he said about the documents shared with the UN chief. The adviser added the government is also examining the possibilities for sharing the dossier with other countries and international organisations.
However, he made it clear that dossier is not the only way to deal with the issue, and the actual way is prosecution for which a case is being prepared, as all this is being done based on thorough groundwork and input from various state departments. "This is a very delicate and sensitive issue and requires detailed preparation and homework as it relates to the direct and indirect involvement of an Indian state actor in subversive and terrorist activities in Pakistan," he said.
Leader of the Opposition in Senate, Senator Aitzaz Ahsan once again chided the prime minister and said he is ready to donate Rs 50,000 from his pocket for Pakistan Blind Association if the prime minister utters the name "Kulbhushan Yadav" even by mistake. "Has he [PM Sharif] ever spoken about Yadav by his name?" Ahsan asked the adviser, who said: "The premier will definitely speak about him at an appropriate time." "There is no bar on naming him," he said and quipped that the "premier might name him in coming days and the association might get the donation."
In the middle of the question hour, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmad stood up to respond to a question by a senator belonging to treasury benches, but he was stopped by Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani. The chairman questioned whether he was prepared to respond to the question, to which the minister said: "Well, what can I say...they [ministers] send me the files and I read them out here."
"The government must have been told to ensure the presence of its ministers in the House," Raza Rabbani referred to his earlier ruling, adding he has repeatedly given ruling on the issue and the parliamentary affairs minister is being burdened by his colleagues who prefer to stay away.
"Either the ministers come to the House or the Cabinet issue a statement that the ministers are not answerable to the Senate," he retorted. Barring extraordinary circumstances, Leader of the House in the Senate, Raja Zafarul Haq, emphasised that it is mandatory for the ministers to come to the House. Senator Aitzaz Ahsan sarcastically remarked that the ministers could be pardoned for their absence in the previous session, as they were duty-bound to reach Supreme Court in Panama Papers leaks case and then interact with the media outside, but it is not the case now.
He insisted that there is no justification for them to stay away from Senate anymore and the chair must take action against the absenteeism of ministers. Raja Zafarul Haq retaliated by saying that he is so happy to find Ahsan in the House after such a long time, adding whose case he was fighting in the apex court by remaining absent from the Senate if this was the case for the ministers.
The chair took the government to task on the issue of not amending the related article of the Constitution for job quota for the federating units and questioned if the government has no intention of doing so, it should make a policy statement on floor of the House.
He reminded the parliamentary affairs minister that it was not a matter of laughing at, as he has been reminding the government for the last two years about the amendment, but despite assurance by the law and justice minister, there has been no progress. Rabbani said a bill has been pending for long in this connection, but despite consensus among all parties, there has been no progress on it, which is quite unfortunate.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.