Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS) is yet to take the main opposition party, 'Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)' on board in relation to contentious issues such as resumption of NATO supply route. The committee which is required to finalise its revised draft by April 05 is meeting today (Wednesday) for further deliberations on controversial clauses.
The committee met with Mian Raza Rabbani in chair here at the parliament house on Tuesday to discuss the clauses that had invited objections by the opposition parties, but the PML-N continued its boycott against the recent increase in prices of petroleum products and did not attend the meeting for the second consecutive day.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Rabbani said the committee was making positive progress towards easing the concerns of PML-N and other opposition parties on some clauses. He rejected the impression that the committee was working on redrafting its report. According to him, the committee was attending to only those clauses which had invited objections by the Opposition.
About the PML-N boycott, he said the committee was doing its preparatory work and would also incorporate the PML-N viewpoint after it ended its boycott. Requesting the PML-N to end its boycott, he reiterated that the committee had nothing to do with the government.
To a question, Rabbani said the government had failed to properly project the implementation on the previous unanimous resolution of the parliament, adding that he would highlight the record of progress made in implementation of previous resolutions in his winding-up debate during the joint-sitting of the parliament.
He further said the committee would not disappoint the nation, adding that the panel was currently working on a broad policy outline which would be the guiding principle for the country's foreign policy. About resumption of NATO supply and the reported guarantee that the PML-N had sought to ensure implementation on the recommendation, he declined to share the details of debate of the committee with the media, saying that it was a parliamentary process which needed no guarantee of any political party.