Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on Friday witnessed a heated debate after opposition legislators assailed the government over a ‘secret’ meeting between Indian business tycoon Sajjan Jindal and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif coupled with government’s unexplained silence over the matter.

Moving away from the meeting’s agenda, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) legislators raised the issue during a sitting of the committee held at the Foreign Office. PPP’s Nafisa Shah demanded to know why the Pakistani government was silent on the matter of Sajjan Jindal’s ‘mysterious’ visit to Pakistan.

PTI legislators said Jindal, who had arrived in Pakistan a day earlier from Afghanistan, had a visa valid for travel to Islamabad and Lahore only but he was whisked off to Murree in the prime minister’s motorcade for a meeting.

PTI’s Shireen Mazari demanded an explanation how Jindal ended up in Murree when his visa did not allow him travel to the hill station. “If he [Jindal] came on a private visit, why did we receive reports regarding his welcome through the Foreign Office?” Mazari asked.

An unannounced meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the visiting Indian business tycoon at the hill resort town of Murree a few days earlier had triggered intense speculation in the country. Several politicians and analysts suggested that the meeting could be a precursor to a possible meeting between the premier and his Indian counterpart in the near future.

Defending the government and attempting to redirect attention back to the meeting’s agenda, Chairman Awais Khan Leghari said Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb had already given a clear statement regarding the Indian tycoon’s visit.

The Indian businessman is known for being close to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also has a friendly relationship with Nawaz Sharif. Some analysts believe Jindal’s visit could be part of some backchannel contacts to improve relations between the two countries.

Informed sources pointed out that it’s not possible for Jindal to visit Pakistan without prior knowledge of the country’s civilian and military intelligence services.

The PTI and PPP legislators later discussed the matter of former COAS General (r) Raheel Sharif’s appointment in the Saudi-led Islamic military alliance.

Besides raising the issue in the standing committee meeting, another PTI legislator, Murad Saeed, submitted an adjournment motion requesting for the suspension of the normal agenda to discuss the issue. Saeed linked Jindal’s visit to the serious national security challenges in the form of Dawn Leaks as well as conviction of Indian spy Kulbushan Jhadav and demanded an explanation on the matter from the prime minister himself.

Jindal’s relationship with the Sharifs is no secret: he was an honoured guest at the wedding of the prime minister’s granddaughter in December 2015, the same occasion where Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also a guest.

In her book, This Unquiet Land, Indian journalist Barkha Dutt describes Jindal as ‘the unexpected conduit [between PMs Sharif and Modi] with movie-star looks’.