ISLAMABAD: The Senate Defence Committee was informed on Wednesday that India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) had established an office at the office of the Afghan intelligence in Kabul and seven offices and stations along the Pak-Afghan border. The committee was also briefed about the RAW activities aimed at destabilising Pakistan. The Ministry of Defence told the committee that RAW was also operating from the Indian consulates in Kandahar, Jalalabad and Mazar-e-Sharif. They were providing money, training, arms and fake identity cards to militants to create unrest in various parts of Pakistan. The Ministry of Defence also informed the committee that RAW had established a special cell at its headquarters in New Delhi to undermine the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It said that RAW operative Kulbhushan Yadav, who was arrested on March 3, was sent to Pakistan to sabotage the CPEC. The meeting, which was presided over by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, received the briefing from Defence Secretary Lt-Gen (Retd) Alam Khattak. At the meeting, figures of the defence budget, which at Rs788 billion is 17% of the total national budget, were provided for utilisation by the three services of the armed forces as well as their allied departments. The Ministry of Defence informed the committee that Rs 35 billion were being paid by the armed forces annually in taxes. The committee was informed that the Coalition Support Fund (CSF) had disbursed $13 billion so far and 40% of this amount went to the civil government. The CSF arrangements would end on September 30, 2016. The American Congress had allocated $100 million for border control mechanism between Pakistan and Afghanistan. During the Pakistan-US strategic dialogue last month in Washington, the Pakistani side had sought a special package of $8 billion for security and development in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) over the next five years. Acting on a public petition on the establishment of a cantonment in Swat where local residents had sought moving the proposed site of the cantonment to a different location as prime agricultural area was under threat, the Senate Defence Committee constituted a sub-committee under the leadership of Senator Salahuddin Tirmizi, Maulana Attaur Rehman and Senator Farhatullah Babar that gave a unanimous recommendation upholding the plea of the local residents. The Defence Committee appreciated the work of the sub-committee as well as the Ministry of Defence. In the same spirit, the Senate Defence Committee took up the case of civilian martyrs of the Army Public School, Peshawar for disbursement of a compensation package, which the government had agreed upon and this package would be disbursed to the next of kin of martyrs this month. Speaking on the occasion, Senator Mushahid Hussain said the Senate Defence Committee would always represent the aspirations and rights of the poor, the voiceless and the dispossessed. Since the Senate was the house of the federation, the Senate Defence Committee would take up issues whenever approached by the public. He said the Senate Defence Committee always played a role above party politics and served as a bridge between the Khaki and Mufti. Senator Mushahid Hussain said that civil and military cooperation should be promoted to meet both internal and external challenges. Finally, the Senate Defence Committee took up the issue of the DHA, which was raised by Senator Farhatullah Babar, who registered his protest against unavailability of replies to questions he had asked at the earlier committee meeting. Invoking rule 187 of the Senate Rules of Procedures and Conduct of Business 2012, the Senate Defence Committee directed the Ministry of Defence that all necessary replies sought by Senator Babar should be furnished at the next meeting of the committee on May 12. It also sought presence of the DHA Lahore authorities at the meeting. The meeting concluded with the vote of thanks to the chair. The committee expressed its appreciation for the professionalism and positive role of the Ministry of Defence, particularly the defence secretary.