Raheel Sharif not leading any army in Saudi Arabia:Pak

While answering questions of lawmakers in the Senate on Tuesday on allowing ex-army chief general (retd) Raheel Sharif to head the Saudi-based alliance of Islamic countries, Adviser to Pak Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that the former chief of the army staff was not leading any army in Saudi Arabia.

Lawmakers in the Senate yet again questioned the logic behind allowing the ex-army chief general (retd) Raheel Sharif to head the Saudi-based alliance of Islamic countries and also raised queries about what they alleged the 'duality in the ongoing war in Pakistan against militancy.'

The government was asked why it permitted the former army chief to proceed to Saudi Arabia while ToRs were not so far finalised and that nothing against Iran would be acceptable to parliament.

They maintained that parliament must be informed who exactly framed Pakistan's foreign policy, as the House took up the opposition's lengthy agenda, for the 264th requisitioned session.

Adviser to Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz made a policy statement in the Senate with particular reference to the recent visit of chairman of US Armed Services Committee to first North Waziristan and then Kabul and the terms of reference (ToRs) of the Riyadh-based military alliance and its impact on Pakistan in the light of permission given to former COAS Raheel Sharif to head it.

He said as soon as the ToRs would be finalised and received, these be placed before parliament. He said the retired chief of the army staff was presently performing an advisory role and not heading any troops there.

Chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani questioned why Sharif was in Saudi Arabia if he was not yet leading any army. Lawmakers also wanted to know the reason why the former army chief had been sent to Saudi Arabia if the ToRs were still unclear. Rabbani asked how the government had deemed it okay to send a former army chief -- who has knowledge of the country's nuclear secrets -- to a sensitive area without even knowing what he would be doing there. "What if the ToRs are not in the interests of Pakistan's national security? What will you do then? You have already sent Raheel Sharif to Saudi Arabia," he questioned.

PPP's Senator Farhatullah Babar asked why Raheel Sharif had announced 10 months prior to his retirement that he would not be looking for an extension in his tenure as the army chief. He asked, "What was the purpose of making the announcement so far in advance, particularly if no offers had been made to him at that point?" He also asked whether Raheel Sharif wished to signal his availability post-retirement to Saudi Arabia and whether the announcement was made for the benefit of the Saudi leadership.

Babar said that if it indeed was the case, then a whole set of new and pertinent questions would have to be answered. "Many will wonder whether this premature announcement about not accepting any extension in tenure was in any way linked to the job in the military alliance waiting in the wings," he said.

ANP Senator Ilyas Bilour said Pakistani lawmakers would not allow there to be any sectarian conflict in the country while asserting that ToRs against Iran would not be acceptable. He cautioned that the future generations would be in great peril, if there would ever be a sectarian conflict.

He recalled during the 1965 war with India, Pakistan's jets would land in Tehran, as Iran had greatly helped Pakistan and today, Muslim countries were joining hands against Iran.