Mushahid elected Senate Defence Committee Chairman

Date : June 04, 2012

Islamabad, June 04, 2012:  The Senate Standing Committee on Defence and Defence Production today held a meeting at Parliament House and unanimously elected Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed as Chairman of the Committee.  His name was proposed by Senator Ishaq Dar and Senator Sabir Ali Baloch while seconded by Senator Maulana Mohammad Khan Shirani, Senator Tahir Mashhadi and Senator Sehar Kamran.  In his opening remarks at the meeting, Senator Mushahid Hussain thanked the leaders present of six political parties for reposing their confidence in him unanimously and he said that this was a good beginning and basis for the Defence Committee to promote a national consensus above party lines on issues pertaining to defence and defence production.

He said the top priority of the Defence Committee would be to promote harmony in civil-military relations, adding that we will serve as a "bridge between the khaki and the mufti”.  He said given the pressures that the country was facing especially the valiant armed forces who were engaged in a fight to preserve national security and Pakistan's territorial integrity, it was imperative that the sacrifices and contributions of the armed forces be backed with full national unity.  He added that the Senate Defence Committee, with all the pressures facing national defence institutions, would be the first line of defence to protect the professional role of the armed forces and the country’s security institutions which they were playing strictly in accordance with the constitution.

Senator Mushahid Hussain underlined that the Defence Committee would also promote transparency on issues of national defence budget and expenditures and also in the role of defence production and he added that the Committee’s role would be public so that the media, the civil society, intellectuals and experts and scholars could be called upon to participate in its deliberations.  Defence production was important in strengthening economy and self-reliance in security, he added. The first step of the Defence Committee would be to express solidarity with the families of Siachen martyrs who sacrificed their lives for the homeland under very difficult conditions, and a special Fateha was offered for the military martyrs by the Defence Committee.

The Chairman Committee expressed his thanks to each and every member of the Committee as well as the Leader of the House Senator Jehangir Badar and Chief Whip, Senator Islamuddin Shaikh as well as Senate Secretary, Mr. Iftikharullah Babar and Secretary Committee, Mr. Amjad Parvaiz for the smooth and efficient conduct of the election. Other members present on the occasion included Senator Chaudhry Shujat Hussain, and Senator Haji Adeel.