Recent Appearances...

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Recent Appearances...

India-Pakistan

Dar says 2018 deal with Kabul, release of militants behind rise in terrorism

2023-11-12

[GEO.TV] Leader of the House in the Senate Ishaq Dar on Friday said the Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
's (PTI) 2018 deal on hard boyz with Kabul and the release of Death Eaters for the increase in terror attacks in Pakistain, The News reported Saturday.

Calling for an in-camera briefing on the surge in terrorism and related history, Dar asked if anyone would tell the nation why the policy was reversed in Kabul and hundreds of hardened hard boyz forcibly got freed.

The Pakistain Moslem League Nawaz (PML-N) leader recalled that the nation came to know about that understanding only after watching images of Pakistain’s responsible people visiting Kabul and holding negotiations there.

"The matter did not end there, as hundreds of hardened hard boyz were forced to be released under an understanding. What was that understanding? Would anyone tell the nation? A policy U-turn was taken on terrorism after the installation of the Taliban
Taliban

...Arabic for students...
government there," he said.

He regretted that they were engaged, and afterwards, hard boyz were released from Pak jails, following which there had been a continuous increase in the acts of terrorism across the country and today no one was safe.

Dar also referred to the recent Mianwali incident and called for a realistic approach, and that the nation should without wasting a minute deal with the extremely sensitive challenge, which, he claimed, the past PML-N government had effectively dealt with by starting Zarb-e-Azb
..the Pak offensive against Qaeda in Pakistain and the Pak Taliban in North Wazoo. The name refers to the sword of the Prophet (PTUI!)...
and then Operation Raddul Fassad.

There was a time when the international community believed that Pakistain might not be able to take on the terrorists, especially in the northern areas, and it was also said that even the military regime of General Musharraf could not take action against terrorists, he said.

But in September 2013, he noted, this decision was taken and the operation was launched against the menace of terrorism.

He explained the then PML-N government moved forward with a well-defined programme to fix the economy, and extremism and deal with the electricity crisis.

Senator Dar said that the caretaker government should give an in-camera briefing on terrorism without any further delay. He also sought data on how the acts of terror dramatically fell from 2013 onwards to 2014, 15, 16 17, and till 2018, and after that the policy was changed and they (terrorists) were engaged.

Earlier, Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani spoke at length on the subject and pointed out that the increase in direct attacks on the personnel and installations of the armed forces followed the return of illegal Afghans from Pakistain.

Rabbani also wanted the then-political government of the PTI and the establishment to accept the responsibility of the deal on terrorists, the details of which are still unknown.

Link

India-Pakistan

Terrorists killed in northwest Pakistan were trained in Afghanistan: Report

2022-10-11

[ANI] Terrorists killed in a clash with Pak security forces in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Swat
...a valley and an administrative district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistain, located 99 mi from Islamabad. It is inhabited mostly by Pashto speakers. The place has gone steadily downhill since the days when Babe Ruth was the Sultan of Swat...
district, were in contact with murderous Moslems in Afghanistan, according to Pak media reports.

Pak agencies revealed that terrorist Anis received special training for bomb manufacturing in Afghanistan's Kunar province
... which is right down the road from Chitral. Kunar is Haqqani country.....
, The Express Tribune reported on Sunday. Another terrorist Ali Syed, who was involved in the Swat attack, also went to the neighbouring country in 2018.

The Pak daily said the country's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has the records of both bully boyz travelling to Afghanistan.

Anis, who also got trained at a camp in Mansehra

...a city and an eponymous district in eastern Khyber-Pakthunwa, nestled snug up against Pak Kashmir, with Kohistan and Diamir to the north and Abbottabad to the south...
, remained in contact with the TTP Swat commander after returning from the neighbouring and planned for terrorist activity in Swat, according to the Tribune report.

This comes amid growing concerns over the resurgence of activities by the Tehrik-e-Taliban
...the Pashtun equivalent of men...
Pakistain (TTP) across several provinces in Pakistain.

Last week, the Pak senators from both the ruling party and the opposition raised issues about the heightened risk of terrorist attacks by the banned outfit.

Pakistain People's Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani said that a call had been made to take parliament on board regarding the situation of infiltration by the TTP in Pak regions, especially the ones near the border, the Dawn newspaper reported.

"It is the right of the people to know under what conditions dialogue with the group was held and on which point it ended and what threats the country is facing that the ministry is forced to use the alert," he said.

Earlier, other senators had also expressed concern over the increase in terrorist attacks. Pakistain's State Minister for Law Shahadat Hussain conceded that terror activities had witnessed a sharp increase, and stated that members of security forces were geared up to curb the menace.

The highest number of terror incidents in Pakistain this year was recorded in September, said an Islamabad-based think tank pointed to the resumption of attacks by the outlawed TTP.

The number of terror attacks increased in September compared to August this year, the Dawn newspaper reported citing the Pakistain Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS).

September witnessed 42 bully boy attacks with an increase of 35 per cent compared to August. The Pak think tank also observed an increase of 106 per cent in violence in erstwhile Fata and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

In August this year, the think tank said the murderous Moslems carried out 31 attacks across Pakistain, in which 37 people were killed and 55 others injured.

Link

India-Pakistan

One big hospital ward

2019-12-16

[DAWN] THERE is no doubt that you are at your most vulnerable when ill and confined to a hospital bed as you have to rely entirely on the sense of duty or the kindness and compassion of someone for the very basic of needs.

Having experienced this myself this summer when an accident left me needing surgery and immobilised for a period of time, I was so, so grateful for my incredible wife and daughters. Equally, the commitment and compassion of the nursing staff makes me misty-eyed on reflection.

If I’d have had to brave a full-fledged riot in that helpless state, with some of the rioters liberally using sticks, stones and bricks and, as in one photographed instance, even a pistol, I doubt I would have survived.

Ergo, I can’t even begin to imagine what the patients and their family/friends went through at the Punjab
1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots....
Institute of Cardiology this week when the men in black let loose their fury at the hospital in Lahore. Imagine the fear, the grave anxiety gripping the heart already weakened by disease.

A lot has been written, but surely still not enough about how barbaric and shameful the marauding lawyers were. Many demands have been made that those involved must face the harshest possible sanction under the law. But the dead can’t be resurrected.

The pain, anguish and fear of those who were forced to brave the nightmare, while grappling with cardiac disorders, may resurface with each hospital visit and, heaven forbid, should they need hospitalisation again. Post-traumatic stress is very real.

How can any ’punishment’ be enough, or even be quantified, for those responsible?

However,
a poor excuse is better than no excuse at all...
let’s not be naïve. The lawyers whose audacity and criminal behaviour was the subject of live telecasts on multiple channels deserved every bit of the opprobrium they got. But not too many focused on the abject, miserable failure that is the Punjab government.

The tragic episode, by my reckoning the first of its kind in Pakistain in which a hospital was attacked, was the culmination of a running feud between two groups of professionals ie the lawyers on the one side and the PIC doctors and paramedical staff on the other.

For several days, the administration remained paralysed and took no action to defuse the situation by enforcing the law. Then finally on that day of shame, the charged, vociferous lawyers walked more than five kilometres from the courts unimpeded to the PIC; the administration did nothing.

Let me tell you why this happened. Since the day of its inauguration, the government from the prime minister down to the lowliest minions of the governing PTI have had one priority: the hunting and hounding of their political opponents.

This seems to have affected the orientation of the law-enforcement agencies from the paramilitary forces to police to the country’s multi-organization, intelligence setup. So, was it a surprise that when an occasion arose warranting robust policing, those responsible were found wanting?

The multifaceted law-enforcement machinery is not inefficient. Its full, ’efficient’ wrath is unleashed to telling effect against political opponents and dissidents. Believe me, I know what I am talking about. Just go to Twitter and search for ’Okara lawyer’ for evidence.

You will see a one-minute video on the enforced disappearance of lawyer Ahmad Shafiq on Dec 10. This is the second time he has been kidnapped. He is also facing a case (placing anti-state material on social media) by the FIA under the cybercrime law, enacted so stubbornly by PML-N minister Anushey Rehman’s overruling many voices of sanity.

In the CCTV video, the impunity and efficiency of the state agencies are on full display ‐from start to finish when a white Toyota corolla car comes to a halt and a couple of masked men alight, to the time these two and some three to four of their accomplices grab and shove the brave lawyer into the car and drive away.

I say brave because a quick look at his Twitter timeline demonstrates what sort of (in the FIA’s view) ’anti-state’ content he was putting out on social media. His crime was no more than yours or mine: believing some policies of our state are not in the national interest. Expressing dissent. That’s all.

The state was clinical in the disappearance of human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
activist Idris Khattak, who disappeared without trace a few weeks ago and is still to be found. These were people who raised conscientious objections to the state’s unlawful actions but were citizens like you and me.

Look at what happened to Rana Sanaullah Khan, the PML-N MNA, whose National Assembly performance caused so much discomfort to the hybrid regime that he was arrested from the Faisalabad
...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after...
-Lahore motorway. Some 15 kilograms of heroin were allegedly recovered from him.

It was another matter that the Lahore Safe City Cameras recorded important segments of the episode and it turns out that timeline of the case, filed and prosecuted by the military-led ANF, was all over the place, casting serious doubts about the charges.

One can go on endlessly about how efficient the state is whether in the case of locking up former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi or former finance minister Dr Miftah Ismail after the two reportedly spurned overtures by powerful quarters to assist the PTI government.

Grateful for small mercies even then are we. The four Baloch women who were arrested in Awaran for carting ’arms and ammunition’ for anti-state ’terrorists’ were released at the intervention of former Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
chief minister Akhtar Mengal, currently an MNA. His party provides vital numerical support to sustain the PTI government in Islamabad.

In the absence of the rule of law, people seek safety in numbers and resort to tribalism. What else would prompt two of my favourite public figures, lawyers Raza Rabbani and Ali Ahmad Kurd, to say there might be justification for the PIC attack? There isn’t one.

Those of us without the safety net of such tribalism can be likened to patients in a huge hospital ward, bereft of compassion and at the mercy of the next marauder.

Link

India-Pakistan

JUI-F's 'Azadi March' sets out for Islamabad from Karachi's Sohrab Goth area

2019-10-28

[DAWN] The Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...the political wing of the Pak Taliban...
-Fazl (JUI-F) 'Azadi March', led by the faction's chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman

...Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty...
, set out on Sunday afternoon from Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
's Sohrab Goth area towards Islamabad.

Thousands of people, including seminary students, are participating in the march. In addition, convoys of political parties, including the PPP, the PML-N, the Awami National Party
founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986. Part of the PPP-led cabinet 2008-13. The ANP is considered left wing, advocating for secularism, democratic socialism, public sector government, and economic egalitarianism....
(ANP) and others, joined the march.

Besides JUI-F leadership, PPP leaders Raza Rabbani, Saeed Ghani, PML-N leaders Mohammad Zubair, Nihal Hashmi, ANP's Shahi Syed and others, are onboard the leading container.

Link

India-Pakistan

Senate sees off religious parties' opposition to pass bill against child marriage

2019-04-30

[DAWN] The Senate on Monday passed the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill, 2018 which proposes that the legal minimum age of marriage in the country be set at 18.

The bill was presented by PPP Senator Sherry Rehman, who told the House that according to a report by the United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
Children's Fund, around 21 per cent Paks got married before turning 18.

She also pointed out that Moslem countries including Oman, ~~The Sick Man of Europe~~ Turkey
...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor....
and United Arab Emirates have already set 18 as the minimum age of entering marriage.

Rehman also apprised the upper house of the fatal threat that underage marriages pose to mothers. "One woman dies in childbirth every 20 minutes," she said, adding that the reason for these deaths were early pregnancies.

Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam
...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one that was led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spent more time running his madrassah until his secreetary rubbed him out in a jealous rage. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability...
(JUI-F) Senator Ghafoor Haideri opposed the bill, saying that complicated pregnancies were not tied to age but poor healthcare. He argued that Islam allows marriage after puberty and recommended that the bill be sent to the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) before being discussed in the Senate.

"We are not promoting western culture, this is wrong," Rehman countered, saying that the bill stated that any person younger than 18 should be considered a child and be prohibited to enter marriage.

Jamaat-e-Islami
...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores...
(JI) Senator Mushtaq Ahmad seconded Haideri's suggestion to send the bill to CII, saying that setting an age limit for marriage would be "against the Shariat".

Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Noorul Haq Qadri said that "there is no age limit for marriage in Islam", reminding the House that a similar bill had once already been deemed "against the Sharia" by the CII .

To this, PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said that referring the bill to the CII would be "akin to sending it into cold storage".

Rehman, meanwhile, pointed out that the bill had been endorsed unanimously by the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights. Haideri, however, raised objections over the committee, saying that his party had not been extended an invitation to join.

Subsequently, the bill was passed by the Senate and now awaits a debate in the National Assembly.

The Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill, 2018, which aims to "curb the menace of child marriage prevalent in the country and save women from exploitation", underage marriage can lead to imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of at least Rs100,000 or both.

Link

India-Pakistan

Senators sound the alarm over banned outfits' candidates contesting election

2018-07-17

[DAWN] Members of the Senate on Monday lashed out at state authorities over their alleged failure to protect candidates and the public ahead of the July 25 elections, while taking aim at policies they said have "allowed" holy warrior ideologies to permeate society.

After the discussions concluded, the upper house prorogued its regular proceedings in view of the Mastung terrorist attack, in which over 145 people were killed.

In a scathing speech, ex-chairman Senate and incumbent PPP Senator Raza Rabbani said the duty to protect citizens was the state's while pointing out that the caretaker set-up was the existing state.

He also regretted that while the country's economy and visa policy had been discussed in the last three meetings of the National Security Committee, the subject of law and order was never made part of the conversation.

"The interim prime minister and military leadership must have been aware of the National Counter Terrorism Authority's (Nacta) report that stated that leaders of all political parties face security threats," he noted while wondering why the provinces were merely sent letters regarding the security situation.

He also criticised the absence of the caretaker interior minister from the session, and wondered whether the law minister would instead answer the house's questions regarding the Mastung attack.

"Will the interior minister again say that those who were attacked were not on the list of those facing security threats?" he wondered.

Rabbani also complained that while orders to arrest political workers were "being implemented swiftly", there was silence on the Mastung incident.

Referring to the participation of alleged members of banned outfits in the forthcoming elections, Rabbani said a new phenomenon was emerging on the model of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal.

Link

India-Pakistan

Senate panel refers issue of public hanging of child rapists to CII

2018-01-27

[DAWN] After having failed to reach a consensus, the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice referred on Thursday a proposed amendment to the Pakistain Penal Code (PPC) to provide for public hanging of criminals abducting children for murder to the Council of Islamic Ideology for its view.

The committee, headed by Senator Javed Abbasi of the ruling PML-N, also decided to hear representatives of provincial jail administrations at the next meeting before reaching a decision.

Former interior minister Senator Rehman Malik
Pak politician, Interior Minister under the Gilani government. Malik is a former Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) intelligence officer who rose to head the FIA during Benazir Bhutto's second tenure. Malik was tossed from his FIA job in 1998 after documenting the breath-taking corruption of the Sharif family. By unhappy coincidence Nawaz Sharif became PM at just that moment and Malik moved to London one step ahead of the button men. He had to give up the interior ministry job because he held dual Brit citizenship.
of the PPP had proposed the amendment to Section 364-A of the PPC, saying that the small amendment would send a strong message and help prevent to a large extent Zainab-like incidents in the country. He also said that this was the pressing demand of the people of Pakistain.

The idea was opposed by some members of the committee who said the amendment would not be appropriate as objections were already being raised over the death penalty

in Pakistain.

Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani had referred the proposed bill to the house committee on law and directed the committees on interior and human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
to give their input on the matter.

Link

India-Pakistan

What forced govt to sign agreement with Faizabad protesters, asks Rabbani

2017-11-28

[DAWN] Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Monday admonished Minister of State for Interior Affairs Talal Chaudhry and asked that "the house wants to know what forced the government to sign an agreement with the protesters" who had staged a sit-in at Faizabad.

After the weeks-long protest that virtually paralysed the capital, the government and protesters reached an agreement late Sunday night, in which the former conceded to the latter's demands.

Rabbani asked why Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal was not present in the Senate to explain the government's position on the agreement with the Faizabad sit-in protesters.

To this Chaudhry replied that Ahsan Iqbal was travelling and, therefore, could not be contacted.

Rabbani also expressed disappointment on Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi's visit to Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
. "The prime minister leaves for abroad on the very same day [the agreement is finalised]. Is the Riyadh summit more important than what has happened in the country?"

"The [real] issue is that your law minister was forced to resign," Rabbani maintained.

The Senate chairman said the parliament was not taken into confidence [before the agreement] because "it appears that the government did not find it important enough" to consult the parliament.

"You are taking the parliament, which can become your strength, for granted," Rabbani said, adding that "this House wants to know why there was a need to call the army?"

Link

India-Pakistan

Pak senate chairman rejects Tillerson's statement, calls it 'unacceptable'

2017-10-25

[DAWN] Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani on Tuesday expressed concern over the statement made by United States (US) Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Afghanistan a day earlier.

"His [Tillerson] tone and tenor are not acceptable," the Senate chairman declared. "His statement came one day before his visit to Pakistain. It seems like a viceroy told Tillerson what to say [on his visit]."

He also summoned Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif to appear before the Senate on Wednesday and inform about the "US demands". He said that the Parliament and Senate have been kept in the dark about the conditions that were laid down by the US.

He also suggested that Tillerson should read the resolutions and recommendations passed by the Parliament "so he knows what [Pakistain's] reaction is".

In a surprise visit to Afghanistan on Monday, Tillerson had said that Pakistain "needs to take a clear-eyed view of the situation that they are confronted with in terms of the number of terrorist organizations that find safe haven [in the country]".

Link

India-Pakistan

Senate recommendations to counter US's Afghan policy receive unanimous approval

2017-08-31

[DAWN] The Senate on Monday unanimously passed a motion recommending that the government launch a regional diplomatic initiative to coordinate responses to US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s new Afghan policy, which takes a dim view of Pakistain’s anti-terrorism efforts.

The entire house, which converted itself into a Whole Committee, devised the recommendations based on policy guidelines proposed by a six-member subcommittee. The Senate chairman said that the house had come up with the recommendations after discussions with the Ministries of Defense and Interior.

After the recommendations were accepted, the Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani ordered that the recommendations also be forwarded to all Pak 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," he observed.

Link

India-Pakistan

Banking on military justice

2017-03-08

[DAWN] IN 2015, when parliament passed the 21st Amendment that allowed constitutionally protected military courts to try terrorism suspects, many reluctant politicians offered their mea culpas. Indeed, how can one forget the spectacle of a weeping Senator Raza Rabbani after he cast his vote? He said he had voted against his conscience. Ironically, two years later, the politicians are once again deliberating the revival of these military courts.

It is yet another testimony of the lack of faith in the country’s criminal justice system and the sheer ineptness of our rulers to reform it. Two years was a long enough period for restructuring the anti-terrorism courts so that they could adequately deal with terrorism cases and deliver quick justice as envisioned in the National Action Plan. Instead, our civilian rulers have once again chosen to outsource the responsibility to the military.

But can military justice salvage the situation? It certainly cannot. The extension in the term of the military courts is likely to further delay the much-needed criminal justice system reforms, particularly the plan to upgrade the anti-terrorism courts. In fact, the very term ’military court’ is a misnomer; it is basically military field court martial whose jurisdiction has been extended to civilians. The opaqueness of the process has already raised questions about the fairness of the trials.

While the 21st Amendment provided constitutional cover to speedy trials under the Pakistain Army Act, it also carried a sunset clause of two years. What brought the political parties to a consensus on the controversial legislation despite some serious reservations was the Beautiful Downtown Peshawar
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire.
school massacre that necessitated tougher action against the terrorists.

It was supposed to be a stopgap arrangement, as the existing anti-terrorism courts were not fully geared to deal with cases involving Death Eater combatants captured during military operations in the tribal areas or those participating in terrorist activities on the mainland. Their number was said to be in the thousands and many of them had been in the custody of the security forces for years without being produced before any court of law.

A flawed system of investigation and lack of evidence that is difficult to obtain in cases of terrorism allowed many hardened turbans to get away without conviction. The threat to the security of the judges and Sherlocks and their families was also the reason for the extremely low conviction rate in militancy-related cases. All these factors helped win the case for the establishment of military courts.

Link

India-Pakistan

Pakistani Senate not to welcome U.S. Congressmen, diplomats

2017-02-13

[NEWS.XINHUANET] Chairman of The Pak Senate Mian Raza Rabbani said Saturday that no U.S. delegations, Congressmen or diplomats will be welcomed after the U.S. embassy in Islamabad delayed visas to two Pak senators.

Rabbani has further directed that no Senate delegation will visit the United States unless an explanation to the delay in issuance of visas is given by the U.S. government and the its embassy in Pakistain.

Deputy Chairman of the Pak Senate Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri

...Central Secretary General of JUI-F, member of the Pak senate, formerly provincial minister of Balochistan. He has a master's degree in Islam and runs a madrassah...
and Senator Salahuddin Tirmizi had been scheduled to travel to the United States as part of a delegation to attend inter-parliamentary hearings at the UN headquarters in New York on Feb. 13-14.

The visit has been cancelled due to the delay in issuance of visas to the Senators.

Link

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