–PPP senator demands formation of national security committee of parliament to discuss policies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani on Friday criticised the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) regarding the country’s foreign policy, saying the policy should be “decided by Parliament, not Rawalpindi”.
While addressing the Senate session, Rabbani said that “every institution was trying to enter another institution’s jurisdiction, in blatant disregard for the powers granted to institutions by the Constitution”.
Quoting the foreign minister, the senator said the Parliament was being kept in the dark regarding foreign policy issues, stressing that all sensitive matters should be discussed in in-camera sessions.
The former Senate chairman said that the “Parliament is the mother of all state institutions,” adding that there was no harmony among the institutions.
“All institutions are answerable to the Parliament, [but] the Parliament is being made dysfunctional,” he lamented, adding that it was disappointing when the foreign minister said some things cannot be told to the House.
“What is it that can be hidden from the Parliament?” Rabbani questioned.
He demanded that a national security committee of the Parliament be formed immediately. “We are not here to inquire about the weather. We are here to make policies.”
The PPP leader also referred to the current accountability process and said that “the judiciary, executive and the military should be subjected to accountability without exception”.
“A bench should be formed in every high court to review reports of alleged torture during NAB inquiries.”
