US Secretary of Defence James Mattis will arrive here on a daylong official visit on December 03, 2017 to hold talks with Pakistani leadership on issues of mutual interest, including Afghan situation. This was confirmed by Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif in an informal chat with reporters after he briefed an in-camera meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs on the Saudi-led 41-members Islamic military coalition and the situation in the Middle East and its implications for Pakistan.
On the visit of Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, he said that the Prime Minister will lead a high-level delegation to Saudi Arabia on November 27 (Monday). The foreign minister will also be part of the delegation.
Asif, however, clarified that the Prime Minister's visit to the Kingdom is a bilateral one, adding it has no relevance with the meeting of the Ministers of Defence Council of the Saudi-led 41-nation Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition (IMCTC) to be held in Riyadh tomorrow (Sunday).
He said that Defence Minister Khurram Dastagir Khan will lead Pakistan delegation to the IMCTC Ministers of Defence Council. PTI's member of the committee Dr Shireen Mazari walked out from the committee after exchanging harsh words with committee Chairman Khusro Bakhtyar and other PML-N members for 'blocking' her bill, namely the 'Ratification of International Treaties Bill, 2013.' She blamed the government that it has 'sold out the country's sovereignty' while referring to Pakistan's participation in IMCTC Defense Ministers' Meeting.
She said that the government had promised that it would get approval from the Parliament before making any decision to join the Saudi-led military alliance. "The government has decided to join the coalition by bypassing the Parliament...whatsoever name you may propose for this coalition, it is an anti-Iran sectarian alliance," she maintained.
The visibly angry with the treasury members' attitude, Mazari told reporters after she walked out from the committee that four years have been passed since the government has been blocking her bill which aims at the Parliament's ratification of the international treaties Pakistan has signed.
She said that the PML-N members stopped voting on the bill despite one of its coalition partners, Mehmood Khan Achakzai of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, supported it who opined that the bill should be sent to the House. She said that the bill seeks to allow the Parliament to pass resolution on ratification of international treaties Pakistan signs. "PML-N is petrified of granting the National Assembly oversight on Pakistan international treaty commitments and bureaucracy fears it will allow Parliament a definitive say in foreign relations. PML-N's anti-democratic mindset is obvious," she stated in a tweet later.
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