World News | Opposition Parties in Pakistan Protest Government's Decision to Bypass Parliament on Security Policy

Islamabad, Dec 29 (PTI) Senators from the Opposition parties protested and staged a walkout on Wednesday in the Upper House against the Imran Khan government's decision to bypass Parliament while approving the ambitious National Security Policy (NSP), aimed at guiding the country's economic and defence policies.

Pakistan's Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed the country's first-ever National Security Policy that emphasised economic progress should be at the centre of national security.

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"It is a truly historic achievement; a citizen-centric comprehensive National Security Policy with economic security at the core will now be pursued in earnest. This umbrella document will, overtime, help guide sectoral policies for the fulfillment of our national security objectives,” National Security Adviser Dr. Moeed Yusuf said.

The five-year policy document covers the period from 2022 to 2026, and is being propped up as the first-ever strategy paper of its kind.

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Though details of the policy has not been shared, the statement issued after the NSC meeting showed that economic security will be of paramount importance for all policies.

Reacting sharply to the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) move, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman said the government did not present the draft of the security policy in the house, and it was nothing more than just a piece of paper that had very little to offer, an Express Tribune report said.

Rehman argued that the bill gave complete autonomy to the State Bank of Pakistan in line with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“What sort of security is the government talking about when the IMF is dictating the economy and the SBP is being sublet,” she asked.

When Rehman's speech was interrupted by PTI Senator Mohsin Aziz, Rehman and her party members staged a walkout.

Leader of the House, Senator Shehzad Wasim said that the Opposition parties decided to boycott the NSC meeting because it was not attended by army officials.

“Had there been uniformed officers there, the opposition leaders would have been first to come,” he opined.

The remarks added to the chaos in the Upper House, with Opposition Senators launching slogans against the government, the report added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)