Rabbani censures govt for ignoring Parliament on strategic issues

ISLAMABAD: Former chairman Senate Mian Raza Rabbani has expressed his strong disappointment over the government’s attitude of ignoring the Parliament while making major strategic decisions.

He said the Parliament should be locked and the keys should be thrown away instead of inflicting humiliation on it, as the forum was becoming redundant with each passing day.

“It is now the fate of the people and of Parliament that on issues of national security, major decisions are learnt of through interviews to the foreign media or proceedings of other Parliaments,” he said while talking to The News on Saturday. He was giving his reaction over Prime Minister Imran Khan’s interview to the foreign media in which he stated that Pakistan was in talks with some factions of the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

Rabbani said the government did not have the right or mandate to enter into talks with the TTP or any other entity without taking the Parliament into confidence.

“These are issues that concern the future of the entire nation and could not be taken by a small coterie to the exclusion of Parliament, civil society and all other stakeholders,” he said.

He said the government needed to build a cross party and stakeholders’ consensus, to establish a national ownership. The former chairman Senate said the Parliament must be summoned immediately to discuss the issue. If the government fails to call a session, the opposition must requisition each House, separately.

He said the government had also failed to take Parliament into confidence on the negotiations of giving the US air and ground corridors.

“This fact came to light in the hearing before the US Senate, yesterday,” he said adding that this is in contradiction to the terms of agreement adopted by a joint sitting of parliament on April 12, 2012.