Nisar wants Parliament taken into confidence on Zardari visit

ISLAMABAD: Opposition Leader in National Assembly, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Thursday called for taking the Parliament into confidence on President Asif Ali Zardari's upcoming visit to India, Geo News reported.

"President Asif Zardari is not a common citizen who would freely go on any country's visit whenever he wanted," Chaudhry Nisar said while addressing a joint sitting of the Parliament.

He questioned on what agenda President Zardari was proceeding on a visit to India, which was not ready to allow even its cricket team to visit Pakistan?

Nisar said the President should keep in mind the sovereignty and dignity of the country and that Pakistan's relations with India were of sensitive nature. "Dialogue with India must not be spoiled through informal visits," he argued.

Responding to this, Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said the President's upcoming visit to India was private in nature and that the Indian government had to be informed about this because he is Pakistan's President.

"The President had not expressed a wish to hold a meeting with any Indian official," she said, adding however that the Indian government welcomed Zardari's visit and Indian the prime minister Manmohan Singh himself invited him to a luncheon as a gesture of goodwill.

She said undertaking visits, talks and negotiations were important for improving the diplomatic atmosphere between the two countries. However, she clarified that President's scheduled visit to India was not part of the process of dialogue.

On Hafiz Saeed issue, Hina Rabbani Khar said the matter had been taken up with the US and it had been clearly told to provide concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed. She said the US had taken a decision about Hafiz Saeed at a wrong time.

She said the Parliamentary Committee on National Security always arrives at its decisions by keeping Pakistan's interests in view. "We never took pressure from any country including the US in making our decisions and we won't take pressure in future as well," she added.

Speaking on Pak-US ties, Chaudhry Nisar said on one hand the US calls itself Pakistan's friend while on the other it brazenly makes a mockery of Pakistan's law and honour.