Babar resigns from Senate’s defence body

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) Secretary General, Senator Farhatullah Babar, has resigned from the Senate’s Defense Committee, presumably, he was not happy with the parliamentarians’ visit to the General Headquarters last month. 

“I am no more member of the Senate’s Defense Committee as I had resigned from it--not now-- but three or four weeks back,” he said while talking to newsmen here on Friday at the Parliament House when questioned from him about the parliamentarians visit to the GHQ last month.

However, when asked about the reasons behind his resigning and leaving the Senate’s committee, he refused to make any comment, but, presumably, he was not happy with the parliamentarians’ visit to the General Headquarters last month.

He raised questions over parliamentarians visiting the General Headquarters saying that if he was a member of the committee then he would not opt to go to the GHQ. “Parliament should not have to go to the GHQ but, instead, the GHQ should have come to Parliament and give briefing,” Babar said.

Senator Farhatullah Babar referred to an instance saying when the GHQ was asked for sensitive documents by the Parliament, the former refused citing security reasons and instead called the parliamentarians. 

The PPP leader said there is only a distance of 15 kilometres between the Parliament and the GHQ; therefore, security should not be the reason for not bringing out sensitive documents. Senator Farooq H Naek has replaced Senator Farhatullah Babar in the Senate’s Defense committee. 

Meanwhile, according to sources, during his tenure as a member of the Senate’s Defence Committee, he raised many issues which were never replied to in the meeting and documents were not shared while declaring them as sensitive.