ISLAMABAD: The lack of interest by members of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs in foreign policy issues, Monday, compelled the chair to cancel an important meeting of the committee in total disappointment.

An important meeting of the 12-member committee was scheduled at 3:00 pm but not a single member showed up to the meeting other than its chairman Mohsin Dawar.

The committee was scheduled to take up important agenda items, including a briefing on Pakistan-US Counterterrorism Dialogue and Mid-Level Defence Dialogue; a briefing on current Pakistan-US cooperation in counterterrorism in the aftermath of US withdrawal from Afghanistan; and a briefing on how many Afghan visas were issued in the last one year and the dates of applications with approval of each one of them.

“This is very unfortunate that our parliamentarians give no importance to these issues,” remarked the chairman before he cancelled the meeting with an apology to senior officers of the Foreign Office who had already reached the meeting to brief the committee.

This is not the first time that the National Assembly Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs had to face a lack of quorum, in its previous meeting on May 23, the chairman had to wait for around 30 minutes before a few members showed up following repeated telephone calls to them so that the quorum is completed.

With its chairman Mohsin Dawar, the committee has members, including Ali Zahid, Muhammad Khan Daha, Zahra Wadood Fatemi, Noorul Hassan Tanvir, Maiza Hameed, Syed Abrar Ali Shah, Nauman Islam Shaikh, Asmatullah, Ali Nawaz Shah, Muhammad Asim Nazir, Nawab Sher, Ahmed Hussain Deharr, Muhammad Abu Bakar, Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, Mir Ghulam AliTalpur and Mehnaz Akbar Aziz.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023