- NA deputy speaker asks lawmakers to decide ToRs for proposed parliamentary commission; Defence minister says Pakistan will never involve in Saudi-Yemen conflict; PTI says Abbottabad inquiry report on Osama’s killing should be made public
In a rare accord between the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday, as their lawmakers agreed to form a parliamentary commission to investigate the allegations leveled by former ambassador Husain Haqqani.
It was none other than Defence Minister Khawaja Asif who proposed to constitute a multiparty parliamentary commission to investigate the confessions made by Haqqani in an article. Despite the fact that the PTI has been a strong critic of Asif, the party’s lawmakers endorsed the idea.
Later, the lawmakers from other major opposition parties including the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and the Mutahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) backed the proposal. Speaking on a point of order, Asif taunted opposition leader Syed Khurshid Shah, saying that his bid to push Haqqani’s matter under the rug would never succeed.
“Mr Shah’s effort to push the matter under the rug by terming Husain Haqqani as ‘traitor’ will not help to get rid of this case,” the minister remarked, saying that the admission of the former ambassador of his role in spread of CIA spooks was a breach of the national security and it needed investigation by a parliamentary commission.
“This multiparty commission should be empowered to seek report of the commission include the Abbottabad inquiry commission,” the minister said, adding that this was not a simple matter to be ignored. This issue needs to be probed before the media, he asserted. He also responded to the concerns raised by PTI’s lawmaker about the sending of armed forces to Saudi Arabia, saying that Pakistan would never get involved in Yemen conflict.
“We will not violate the resolution passed by this House in this regard… Pakistan would never involve in conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen,” he added. The minister said that the former ambassador also highlighted the role of former president Asif Ali Zardari and former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani in the matter. Then interior minister Rehman Malik was also aware about the CIA network called the ‘Black Water,’ he said.
Khawaja Asif further said that hundreds of visas were issued to people who worked for the US interests under the PPP regime. He mentioned that the former interior minister was also involved in issuance of visas to the US spies. He vowed to come up with more material in a detailed statement on Haqqani on Monday. Despite provocative statement by the minister, the opposition leader adopted a reconciliatory tone, saying his party would support the suggestion floated by the defence minister.
“Yes, we believe that a joint parliamentary commission should be constituted. The government should also investigate issues of ‘Newsleaks.’ It also needs to ascertain who supported Osama Bin Laden in the past,” he said. He accused the government of trying to ‘disintegrate the federation’ and create ‘misunderstandings’ with the provinces. He also accused the federal government for ‘disintegrating the federation by ignoring Sindh and other smaller provinces.’
He also took the minister to task for their continued absence from the National Assembly, saying Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during the last four years attended the proceedings only for 18 days and on the other hand, he spent over 100 days out of the country. “We are in support of parliamentary commissions but the prime minister should also ensure his presence in the parliament,” he concluded.
MNA Shafqat Mehmood supported the proposal of the defence minister, saying that the issues about the national security should also be debated in the House. Dr Arif Alvi of the PTI said the Inquiry Commission on Abbottabad should be made public before constituting the multiparty commission. He said the burden of demanding for making the report of the Abbottabad Commission public should not be left with the parliament.
He stated that Pakistan was not and should never involve in Yemen conflict. “We should not violate the resolution passed by this House in this regard,” he said. Deputy Speaker Murtaza Javed Abbasi asked both the government and the opposition to sit together to decide terms of reference (ToRs) for the proposed parliamentary commission. The house also witnessed a very thin presence while PPP’s Nawab Yusuf Talpur pointed out lack of quorum and house was suspended lack of strength.
