PPP’s Farhatullah Babar resigns from Senate’s defence committee

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Farhatullah Babar on Friday resigned from the Senate’s Standing Committee on Defence.

The senator raised questions over parliamentarians’ visit to the General Headquarters (GHQ), saying that “GHQ should come to the parliament rather than the parliament going to the GHQ”. However, he did not disclose reasons for his resignation.

Babar told a private TV channel that he would not have gone to the GHQ if he was not a committee member. He further said when the GHQ was asked to produce documents, it told parliament that sensitive documents cannot be brought out of the GHQ. “Can the GHQ not ensure the security of sensitive documents for even 15 kilometres?” Babar questioned.

Last month, the members of the standing committees of defence of the Senate and National Assembly had visited the GHQ and met the COAS General Qamar Javed Bajwa. During the visit, Gen Bajwa had said that he wanted greater interaction with parliament.