Two members of the Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production have refused to attend a meeting scheduled for today (Thursday) at the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) Headquarters, saying the agency’s officials should come to the Parliament House to brief the legislators. Sources said that Senator Raza Rabbani and Senator Prof Khurshid Ahmed had declined to attend the meeting and conveyed their decision to the chairman, Senator Lt Gen (r) Javed Ashraf Qazi.
The committee was scheduled to meet at the ISI headquarters to get briefing on the spy agency’s role in counter-terrorism operations. When contacted, Prof Khurshid told Pakistan Today that he had written a letter to the committee chairman conveying his concerns. “We respect both the army and the ISI, but it is a matter of principle. The parliament is supreme and the ISI officials should be summoned to the Parliament House to brief the members of the committee,” he said. Sources added that Rabbani shared the same opinion and declined to attend today’s meeting.
Senators snub briefing at ISI Headquarters
