ISLAMABAD: Hours after Senate chairman Raza Rabbani
delivered an anti-US speech at the Speakers Conference of six countries
in Islamabad on Sunday, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) distanced
itself from his remarks, declaring them his personal viewpoint.
“Senator
Raza Rabbani has resigned from the office of the deputy secretary
general of the PPP upon his election and taking over as chairman of the
Senate of Pakistan. All the statements of Raza Rabbani are in his
individual capacity and may be considered as his own,” says a brief
statement issued by the Media Cell of Bilawal House in Karachi.
When
contacted, the head of Bilawal House Media Centre Surrendar Velaci
simply said that he had issued the statement after receiving “a
directive from the party leadership”. He failed to give any reason for
issuing the statement, saying that he did not know as to on which part
of Mr Rabbani’s speech, the leadership had taken this immediate action.
Similarly,
when contacted, PPP’s secretary general and the official spokesman for
the party chairman Farhatullah Babar said that he was also unaware of
the reason behind this move. He, however, explained that whenever the
political parties made some comments about the other countries or on
foreign policy issues, they used diplomatic and soft language.
“An
individual can use a harsh language or choose words of his own choice,
but the parties remain careful in their language while commenting on
foreign policy issues,” the PPP leader said. He, however, said that he
did not see any “specific reason” for the party leadership’s decision of
disowning Mr Rabbani’s remarks.
Downplaying the
incident, Mr Babar said that such things happened in political parties
and it was not for the first time that the PPP had distanced itself from
statements made by any party leader or member. He reminded that once
the party leadership had distanced itself from a speech which he had
made on the floor of the Senate.
Speaking at the
conference, the Senate chairman in his reference to the recent remarks
on Pakistan by US Vice President Mike Pence, had stated that Pakistan
was a sovereign country and it was not in the habit of “taking notices”
from anyone.
Mr Rabbani had said the US was trying to
shift the blame for its defeat in Afghanistan on to Pakistan “and it
consistently refuses to recognise the sacrifices of the people of
Pakistan in the war on terror.” He alleged that the US was bringing
about instability in Muslim countries, particularly in the Middle East.
He had further stated that a new coalition between the US, Israel and
India was in the making and Washington was trying to use or build up
India as a policeman of the region.
Political experts
were surprised to see the statement issued from Bilawal House as this
was not for the first time that Mr Rabbani had delivered an anti-US
speech. In the past too, on a number of occasions and while presiding
over the Senate proceedings, he had harshly criticised the US policies
towards Pakistan and Islamic countries.
CEC meeting
Meanwhile,
PPP chairman Bilawal-Bhutto Zardari “summoned” a meeting of the party’s
Central Executive Committee (CEC) at Naudero House in Larkana on
Tuesday on the eve of 10th death anniversary of former party chairperson
Benazir Bhutto to be observed on Wednesday.
Mr Babar
said though the main purpose of holding CEC meetings on the occasions of
birth and death anniversaries of the party leaders was to pay homage to
them, the members were allowed to speak on national issues.
He
said the party leaders in the CEC meeting would “discuss in threadbare
the overall current political situation in the country”.