(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News) KABUL (Pajhwok): The Wolesi Jirga - lower house of parliament - plans to summon the National Directorate of Security (NDS) chief next week, a decision slammed as illegal by some lawmakers.
Speake rAbdur Rauf Ibrahimi on Wednesday said spymaster Mohammad Masoom Stanikzai would be summoned in line with a decision of house panel heads and a written request from 48 MPs.
The NDS chief has been blamed for failing to prevent suicide attacks, curtail intelligence forces€™ casualties, politicization of the intelligence agency, ignoring calls from the lower house and other reasons.
Under Article 92 of the Constitution, the lower house, on the proposal of 20 percent of its members, shall make inquiries from each minister. If the explanations given are not satisfactory, the house shall consider the issue of a no- confidence vote.
The no- confidence vote against a minister shall be explicit, direct, as well as based on convincing reasons. The vote shall be approved by a majority of members.
A number of lawmakers criticised the collection of signatures and adding the NDS head€™s grilling to the house agenda.
Obaidullah Barakzai, a lawmaker from central Uruzgan province, said: €œWe are not against this action, but collecting signatures is against the law. The signatures were not collected in Wolesi Jirga, but in lawmakers€™ houses and by force.€
Addressing the administrative board of the house, he said: €œYou don€™t have the right to make deals in your personal interest. We will not allow anyone to impeach the NDS chief.€
Mohammad Akbar Stanikzai, a public representative from Logar province, said: €œThe decision made by the leaders of house panels is against the law and rules of business of the Wolesi Jirga.€
He argued the signatures of MPs should be collected inside the lower house and without the use of force or pressure.
Munawar Shah Bahaduri, a lawmaker from western Herat province, also called the move against the law. €œIn Tuesday€™ssession, 12 members of the committee opposed and only five supported this decision.
€œLater on, I received a message that the issue has been added to the agenda of Wednesday€™s session,€ the legislator added.
However, Ibrahimi insisted the issue had been placed on the agenda under the relevant law and the lawmakers who were against the impeachment could make a decision on that day.
€œAdding this issue to the agenda is the power of committee of leaders. As many as 48 lawmakers have recommended this decision. We cannot ignore the views of so many MPs,€ he concluded.
MENAFN1904201801740000ID1096747363
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.