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ISLAMABAD / AP
The chairman of Pakistan’s senate says the body will not welcome any US delegation, member of Congress or dignitary in Islamabad.
The move comes after the US failed to issue a visa to the senate’s deputy chairman, a member of the right-wing Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam political party.
Chairman Raza Rabbani says in a statement that no Pakistani senate delegation will visit the US until an explanation for the delay in issuing a visa to Maulana Ghafoor Haideri is given by US authorities.
A U.S. embassy spokesman in Islamabad said on Sunday they could not comment on visa cases due to privacy laws.
Haideri was to travel Sunday to New York to attend a meeting at the United Nations.
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman is known for pro-Taliban and anti-U.S. stances.