Departure from stated stance?: Senators voice concern over Syria ‘policy shift’

Say any attempt to intervene in Damascus affairs will have grave implications.

ISLAMABAD: The heads of Senate Standing Committees on Foreign Relations and Defence on Sunday expressed concern over the government’s move to shift its policy on the civil war in Syria after the visit of a high-profile dignitary from Saudi Arabia.

Chairmen of the two committees Haji Mohammad Adeel and Mushahid Hussain Sayed said any attempt by the government to intervene in Syria for regime change would be strongly opposed and rejected.

Last week, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan authorities had called for ‘the formation of a transitional governing body in Syria with full executive powers enabling it to take charge of the affairs of the country’.

“We have already passed a unanimous resolution in the (Senate) committee calling on the government to be neural about (efforts at) regime change in Syria,” said Senator Haji Mohammad Adeel talking to The Express Tribune.

He said the committee passed the resolution in the presence of Adviser to the Prime Minister on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz and the Foreign Office officials.

“The government cannot go against the national consensus while changing a policy on Syria,” he maintained.

He said Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee would soon meet about the latest development pertaining to Syria, Afghanistan, Iran and Saudi Arabia and would ask the government to explain if any policy change had taken place on these countries.

“Our government should avoid attempts to change regime in Syria from outside,” Senator Mushahid Hussain said.

He said that he had already talked to Sartaj Aziz, who had stated it was just a follow-up meeting of the consensus reached in Geneva about Syria and not any policy shift.

“There would be serious implications of any interference by Pakistan in the Syrian civil war,” said Mushahid. “National consensus is the key to taking any stance on Damascus. The government should avoid making any attempt unilaterally,” he added.

PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar has asked the PM’s adviser to take the upper house into confidence on this ‘matter of great public importance’ as there seemed a sudden, unexplained and a major departure from the known and stated position of Pakistan on this issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2014.