Expressing concerns over the terms of reference (ToRs) of
the Saudi-led Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) being
kept secret, senators on Friday demanded that parliament be apprised of
the particulars of the military alliance.
The inaugural meeting of the IMCTC was held in Saudi Arabia last month, with former Army chief Raheel Sharif being handed its command. Representatives of 40 nations were in attendance.
PPP
Senator Farhatullah Babar complained that when asked about the
reservations of Iran on the Saudi-led coalition, the Foreign Office had
said that it was unaware of any and would reply after talking to the
authority on the matter. "Just who is this authority?" Babar asked.
He
also stated that parliament and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were
being kept in the dark about Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Gen Qamar Javed
Bajwa's recent visits to Iran.
"One institution is
formulating policy on its own, regarding which even the Foreign Office
is unaware," he remarked, requesting Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani to
give a ruling on the issue and summon the foreign minister.
Responding to Senator Babar's request, Rabbani said: "I will go missing before March 12 if I give a ruling on this."
He
also took the opportunity to rubbish some senators' comments about the
parliament having gotten "weaker than the Organisation of Islamic
Countries (OIC)."
