The members of Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) on Saturday hit a deadlock over the allowance of conditional supply to NATO forces in Afghanistan, as the PML-N supported, while the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) opposed the proposal.
A source said though both PML-Q and ‘N’ were supportive of the proposal tabled by Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed of linking reopening of NATO supply routes with halting drone attacks inside Pakistani territory, but the JUI-F vetoed this proposal, compelling the committee to adjourn its proceedings until Monday.
However, the committee chairman hoped to develop consensus among the political parties. The opposition parties had joined hands a week earlier to adopt unanimous stand in the parliament on recommendations of Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) but fell divided on Saturday.
However, the members unanimously agreed to include two clauses into the draft about not allowing any foreign security contractor to conduct covert operations on Pakistani soil and not giving bases to any foreign nation, especially to the US. The committee, which at Parliament House with Senator Raza Rabbani in the chair, held deliberations for over three hours.
The meeting was also attended by PPP leader Qamar Zaman Kaira who has replaced Senator Babar Awan.
Rabbani told reporters that the committee was discussing all recommendations and would make decisions with consensus. He said the political parties would not disappoint the nation as they had done in the recent past. Sources said the committee agreed to delete three controversial recommendations related to permitting foreign intelligence operatives inside Pakistan, granting Pakistani airbases and military bases to foreign forces on Pakistani soil. “PML-Q flouted new proposals before the committee to oppose any American attacks on Iran which got support from committee members,” the sources said, adding that both major political parties remained divided over the restoration of conditional supply to NATO forces. JUI-F chief Fazlur Rehman told reporters his party supported complete and permanent closure of NATO supply. “It was a good decision made by the government, so it should not take it back at any cost and parliament should also not be used to back out from the decision,” he said. Following the meeting, Raza Rabbani admitted difference of opinion among members of the committee on the proposal and said that his utmost effort was to ensure that the committee adopted unanimous recommendations.