Saudi-led military alliance: Senate be taken on board before making any commitments: Babar

Senator Farhatullah Babar of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Friday urged defence minister not to make any commitment on terms of Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) without bringing it into the notice of the Senate. Minister for Defence Khurram Dastgir Khan is to leave for Riyadh on November 26 to attend the first meeting of IMCTC Ministers of Defence Council to formally launch the military alliance and also outline coalition's strategy, governance, activities and future plans.
Speaking on a point of public importance in the Senate, Senator Babar reminded the government that the defence minister had assured the House that the terms of reference for participation in the alliance will be placed before the Senate before taking any decision. He said that the military commander of the coalition has also been quoted as saying that the coalition 'encompasses four key areas of ideology, communications, counterterrorism financing and military to fight terrorism and join other international security and peace keeping efforts.' Each of these areas, particularly the one relating to ideology, presents potential pitfalls and challenges with far-reaching consequences for Pakistan, he said and demanded clarity on the issues involved and laying of facts before the Parliament.
Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani also endorsed the demand of Senator Babar and said that the then Defence Minister Khawaja Asif, who is now foreign minister, had also assured that the House will be taken onboard before any such venture with Saudi-led military alliance. The alliance was announced in December 2015 and has 41 members. Pakistan was part of initial list of 34 countries to join the coalition. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will inaugurate the defence ministers meeting.
The lawmakers belonging to both opposition and treasury expressed dismay over absence of senators during voting on the delimitation bill, which has been pending before the Senate for the last over one week. They were unanimous in saying that they Parliament may lose the historic opportunity of holding elections on time if this remains the attitude of the lawmakers.