Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Legislators in Upper House of parliament on Friday regretted that parliament was always bypassed in important decisions like joining the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition.

They urged the government to take the Parliament into confidence regarding Pakistan’s participation in the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism alliance. They were participating in the discussion on the admitted adjournment motion moved by Sherry Rehman regarding the key commitments made by the Federal Government to the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition without talking the Parliament into confidence. The members said that Parliament should be taken on board regarding terms of reference of Pakistan engagement in the alliance. They said Pakistan should pursue its own national interest rather than fighting war of others. They called for making Pakistan economically stable and stronger without which any independent foreign policy can be ensured. Senators that mandate of the Pakistan’s engagement in the Islamic military alliance should have been debated in the parliament. They said that every decision should be made through collective wisdom.

Members belonging to treasury benches stressed the need that all Muslim countries should stand united to fight terrorism collectively. They said every Muslim country should join the Islamic Military Alliance. They said that terrorism should not be bracketed with Islam or any particular region. They said that the government would certainly take the House into confidence when TORs of this alliance are finalized. They said Pakistan would never send its troops to fight against any Muslim country.

Speaking on the occasion, Senator Farhatullah Babar said that it was frightening that both the Foreign Office and the Parliament were in the dark about the TORs of the Islamic Military Alliance even three weeks after it was formally launched in Riyadh and defence ministers of member countries met to finalize its strategy and future plans.

Babar said the FO talks of the four domains of the alliance including military also but has no clue of what exact role the military would play in the enterprise. Reading out from the press talk of the FO Spokesman he said that the Spokesman had no information and “asked the authorities for more details”.

Who was that authority beyond the FO and the Parliament, which was privy to details of engagement in the four listed domains particularly the military, he asked and warned against consequences of engaging in a military conflict in the Middle East. “We have already burnt our fingers in conflict in Afghanistan; let us not burn ourselves totally by engaging in a military conflict in the Middle East”. He said that according to official statement about the purpose of Riyadh meeting was ‘to outline coalition’s strategy’. The military commander further stated that it ‘encompasses four key areas of ideology, communications, counter terrorism financing and military to fight terrorism’, he said.

Farhatullah Babar said that first the Foreign Minister assured that Pakistan will not join without first agreeing on terms of reference of alliance. But then in unexplained haste and relaxing all rules forbidding such appointment before completion of two years of retirement the former army chief was sent as head of the military coalition.

But even after the defence ministers have actually met and supposedly finalized the terms and the alliance formally launched no one seemed to know what the terms were, he said. It only strengthens the perception that invisible and un-accountable ghosts were running all policies. Rehman Malik questioned that where was the headquarters of Islamic Military Alliance and what was its mandate. How the force would act and under what law, he questioned. Ruling Senator Javed Abbasi said top leaderships of majority of Muslim countries were removed through different excuses and several Gulf countries were disturb through Arab Spring. He said efforts were made to make disturbance in Pakistan. Nuzhat Sadiq was of the view that the government should set a red line that Pakistani forces would not indulged in any war of neighbor country.

ANP Senator Shahi Syed said the country was still suffering due to joining Afghan Jihad and joining the Islamic Alliance could not clear yet.

Published in Daily Times, December 16^th 2017.