ISLAMABAD: Parliamentary Committee on National Security has refused
to take briefings on the Pak-US relationship and country’s defence
situation from Army and Ministry of Defence officials in the Army
General Headquarters.
The decision to this effect was made at
the Committee’s meeting chaired by Mian Raza Rabbani at the Parliament
House on Tuesday. All members of the committee attended the meeting.
Senator
Rabbani who heads the Parliamentary Committee on National Security
talking to media said that rules do not allow the committee to take
briefing from “other organizations”.
Rabbani said that the Committee was a part of the National Assembly and it was superior to the Military Headquarters.
If the GHQ wants to brief the committee then it has to come to us, he added.
He
said since the Committee was set up under the resolutions of the
Parliament hence it has been decided unanimously that in line with the
rules and regulations the in camera meeting of the parliamentary
committee would be held at Parliament House and we would not attend the
briefing of the defence officials at the GHQ. He said that after
consultation with the defence officials the date of the briefing would
be decided.
He said that traditionally the committee holds it’s
in camera session at the Parliament House thus it was decided
unanimously by the members that the tradition would be kept intact.
The
Parliamentary Committee on National Security, the Senate Standing
Committee on Defence and the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign
Affairs were asked to attend the briefing to be held at the GHQ.
According
to sources, letters were sent to the General Headquarters and
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) by the committees seeking a briefing
on the security situation, relations with the US and challenges facing
the country and it was decided that the committees would be briefed
jointly.
Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani and Director
General of ISI Lt-Gen Ahmad Shuja Pasha were to brief the committees on
Thursday. Online
