Ties with US: Rabbani urges govt to take Parliament into confidence

ISLAMABAD: Former Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani has criticised the federal government for not taking the people or Parliament into confidence regarding what he described as the “new dynamics” of Pakistan’s relationship with the United States.

“The government should immediately take Parliament into confidence on all aspects of its emerging policy toward the United States,” he demanded in a statement on Monday.

Rabbani argued that it was the right of the people to be informed about the details and direction of the country’s foreign policy. “In history, the US has never been a reliable friend to depend upon,” he remarked.

The former Senate chairman expressed concern that reports of deals involving the sale of precious and rare minerals to US Strategic Metals (USSM) had surfaced through the media rather than being formally disclosed.

Rabbani stressed that the real stakeholders—the provinces—should have been consulted through the Council of Common Interests (CCI). Citing Article 172 of the Constitution, he reminded the government that provinces happen to be 50 per cent owners of the country’s mineral resources. He also pointed out that provincial governments had already rejected the federal government’s proposed minerals law.

Rabbani said it was “alarming” to learn from international reports that Pasni port might be offered to Washington, warning that such a move could have “serious repercussions” for Pakistan’s regional relationships.