January 15, 2008	Tuesday	Muharram 05, 1429

ISLAMABAD, Jan 14: Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet has appreciated the directives issued by Chief of Army Staff Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to army officers, asking them to stay away from politics in line with established rules and confine themselves to professional defence matters only.

The committee met at the parliament house under the chairmanship of Senator Abdul Ghaffar Qureshi. The participating senators welcomed the army chief’s statement which appeared in the national press on Monday.

Gen Kiani has reportedly directed all officers that soldiers should pay heed to their professional responsibilities and avoid indulging in political affairs.

No officer should call any politician to the GHQ or Corps Headquarters, the army chief reportedly directed the officers in a letter with the warning that anyone found violating this would face the music.

The committee discussed different matters related to the Council of Common Interest (CCI) and directed the cabinet secretariat to initiate steps for the activation of CCI particularly enacting its rules of procedure. They showed concern over ignoring of this important national forum by successive governments, directing that it was high time amends were made for past mistakes.

Other matters which came under discussion in the meeting included conferment of civil awards. Directives were issued that merit be the sole criterion for the award of civil awards. There should be greater public representation in the jury which decides conferment of such awards.

They stressed on the need for strengthening emergency relief cell in order to make it more effective and enable it to provide prompt relief to persons affected by natural disasters. It directed that the cell be organised on modern lines and should have adequate stock of supplies to deal with emergency situation.

Senator Kamran Murtaza expressed his dissatisfaction over the manner the cell carried out relief operations in Balochistan when it was hit by flash floods. He said the shortcomings should be removed in order to make it more effective.

While criticising some departments, the committee also lauded the role of the National Documentation Centre (NDC) with regard to keeping and maintaining national records like bilateral agreements, Pakistan movement records etc.

The participants stressed that the facility should be publicised in the national press so that scholars and academicians interested in research could benefit themselves from this facility.

Earlier, the cabinet secretary made a detailed presentation to the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet outlining its role and functions. Cabinet section is the secretariat of the cabinet, Council of Common Interest and the secretaries’ committee, he said.