ISLAMABAD, March 12: Senate Chairman Mohammadmian Soomro has disallowed a resolution, moved by a Pakistan People’s Party senator, urging that the military should not be involved in commercial and industrial activities on the ground that the resolution was too general in nature.

The resolution, moved by PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar on February 16 for being taking up on the next Private Member’s Day, said: “This House is of the view that the armed forces should not be involved in commercial and industrial activities.”

A Senate letter, R.D No 16-20/2005-Q dated March 7, addressed to the mover said the subject matter of the resolution was too general and that the chairman has been pleased to hold the resolution to be inadmissible under rule 121 (3) of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 1988.

The resolution was killed on Monday when the auditor general’s report was presented before the National Assembly, identifying corruption to the tune of millions of rupees in the commercial ventures of the defence services.

When contacted, Senator Farhatullah Babar confirmed that the Senate Secretariat had disallowed his resolution.

He, however, contested the ground on which the resolution was disallowed, quoting Rule 121(1) on the subject, which read: “A resolution may be in the form of a declaration of opinion or a recommendation; or convey a message; or commend, urge or request an action; or call attention to a matter or situation for consideration by the government.”

Quoting Rule 121(3), Senator Babar said: “It shall be clearly and precisely expressed and shall raise substantially one definite issue.”

He said increasing engagements of the armed forces in commercial and industrial activities was “substantially one definite issue under Rule 121(3) and the resolution was precisely in the form of a declaration of opinion and to convey a message as provided for in Rule 121(1).

Senator Babar said it was a “definite issue” which had also been commented upon nationally and internationally.

“British High Commissioner Mark Lyall Grant created a diplomatic stir last week when he publicly remarked that during the past 28 years, the military’s corporate business interests had increased manifold and that this was hampering poverty reduction efforts and the efficacy of the judiciary and bureaucracy in the country,” he said. When Mr Grant’s comments were published in Dawn on March 2, the Foreign Office summoned the British envoy to serve a demarche on him, he added.

Senator Babar said Dawn also commented editorially on March 4 as to what extent the commercial activity was compatible with the armed forces professionalism.

He said it was important that the strategic consequences of increasing involvement of professional armed forces in extra- professional activities were discussed.

“It would have been in national interest if the Senate had been allowed to express an opinion on it. By killing the resolution, the armed forces have been deprived of the benefit of a critical perspective on the issue,” he said.

It would be a surprise if such a discussion had not yet taken place within the security establishment and it would be a marvel if it was discussed and concluded that the issue had no strategic fallout, he said.

Senator Babar said a discussion in the Senate would have opened the doors of much needed civil-military dialogue on issues of national security.

When asked as to what the PPP would do next, he said: “Let the Senate Secretariat find its place in the Guiness Book of Records for killing resolutions without bringing them before the House.”