Pak Senator says country must sever all ties with Afghan insurgents

An opposition lawmaker in the Pakistan Senate has reportedly said that the country must break alleged links with any Afghan insurgents, if it were to adhere to Article 40 of the Constitution.

Senator Farhatullah Babar, while reading out Article 40, said that if Pakistan was to adhere to it, then it must break alleged links with any Afghan insurgents and stop the ability of Afghan fighters to seek refuge in Pakistan.

According to The Dawn, Opposition lawmakers were expressing their views during a debate in the Senate on a motion on foreign policy moved by Senator Raza Rabbani of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

Senator Farhatullah Babar said that a stable and democratic civilian government leading foreign policy formulation would be welcomed by all parties, as compared to the security establishment leading it without any accountability.

He said that duplicity in policy making is too obvious, adding that while the prime minister has kept the portfolio of the foreign minister with himself, there is an advisor and a special assistant.

Babar also said that a federal minister and chief minister Punjab articulate independent foreign policy issues without referring to the foreign office, the report added.