Re-engagement with US: Review may stay vague on NATO supply route
Political parties are reluctant to own such a decision close to the next elections.
ISLAMABAD:
The most unpopular decision in foreign policy review – reopening of Nato supply route – may be left out entirely in the second draft of proposals being deliberated by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).
The all-party, bicameral parliamentary panel redrafting the terms of engagement with the United States is likely to keep the decision on reopening Nato supply route vague, instead of proposing anything explicitly on the issue.
The proposal, if adopted, will allow necessary face-saving to both, Parliament and government, in taking the final decision to lift the four-month old blockade, said an official familiar with the development.
The official said that political parties were reluctant to own such a decision at a time when the next general elections are not far away.
“This, in fact, is hampering the parliamentary process,” the official said.
The idea was first mooted by Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The JUI-F chief, who is a member of the PCNS, believes that the decision to resume NATO supplies rests with the executive authority, and parliament has nothing to do with it.
Meanwhile, the committee, headed by Senator Raza Rabbani, met at the Parliament House on Tuesday to bring necessary amendments in the original proposal.
The main opposition, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, continued its boycott of the proceedings over the recent hike in oil and gas prices by the government.
The committee was supposed to complete its review before the joint session of parliament resumes debate on April 5. The revised draft, however, is unlikely to be finalised any time soon.
Rabbani told reporters that the committee was positively heading in the right direction.
“I am very confident that the committee will not disappoint the people,” he said.
He brushed aside the impression that the panel was reviewing the entire 40-point report.
The review is limited only to provisions on which the opposition parties have voiced reservations, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2012.
The most unpopular decision in foreign policy review – reopening of Nato supply route – may be left out entirely in the second draft of proposals being deliberated by the Parliamentary Committee on National Security (PCNS).
The all-party, bicameral parliamentary panel redrafting the terms of engagement with the United States is likely to keep the decision on reopening Nato supply route vague, instead of proposing anything explicitly on the issue.
The proposal, if adopted, will allow necessary face-saving to both, Parliament and government, in taking the final decision to lift the four-month old blockade, said an official familiar with the development.
The official said that political parties were reluctant to own such a decision at a time when the next general elections are not far away.
“This, in fact, is hampering the parliamentary process,” the official said.
The idea was first mooted by Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman.
The JUI-F chief, who is a member of the PCNS, believes that the decision to resume NATO supplies rests with the executive authority, and parliament has nothing to do with it.
Meanwhile, the committee, headed by Senator Raza Rabbani, met at the Parliament House on Tuesday to bring necessary amendments in the original proposal.
The main opposition, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, continued its boycott of the proceedings over the recent hike in oil and gas prices by the government.
The committee was supposed to complete its review before the joint session of parliament resumes debate on April 5. The revised draft, however, is unlikely to be finalised any time soon.
Rabbani told reporters that the committee was positively heading in the right direction.
“I am very confident that the committee will not disappoint the people,” he said.
He brushed aside the impression that the panel was reviewing the entire 40-point report.
The review is limited only to provisions on which the opposition parties have voiced reservations, he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 4th, 2012.