It is better that first parliament fully understand the working of the agencies.
ISLAMABAD: This is with reference to your editorial of May 10 titled “Answerable to parliament”.
I would like to say that in all civilised societies, the intelligence agencies are indeed answerable to parliament. Unfortunately, though, we are not all that civilised as yet. And in that, parliament and its members are to be largely blamed. Given the current performance and composition of parliament, making our secret agencies answerable to the institution would in fact be counter-productive.
Before anything like that is even thought of, it is better that first parliament fully understand the working of the agencies and the fact that members who serve in them do not do whatever they do because of any personal grudge. They catch hold of an individual only when they are pretty sure of that person’s involvement in anti-state activities.
Dr Nisar A Kayani
Published in The Express Tribune, May 12th, 2012.
