However, Chairman Senate Raza Rabbani grilled the Defence Minister for not taking the parliament into confidence prior to taking any decision, describing the move as a violation of the resolution of joint sitting of the Parliament. When the chairman inquired to know the exact location of the deployment of Pakistani troops in Saudi Arabia, the defence minister declined to share the information even when an in-camera session of the House, citing national security issues. "The operational details such as the exact deployment of the troops cannot be divulged for the safety of our soldiers," he said.
The Defence Minister also dispelled the impression that sending troops to Saudi Arabia is aimed at taking part in the Yemeni conflict but declined to respond the various queries by the senators who termed the decision a violation of the parliamentary resolution. "The comprehension that our troop will be somewhere entangled in Yemen, this is incorrect...we have very clear guidelines as to how and where Pakistani troops will be deployed. I assure the House that the deployment will be within the territorial boundaries of the kingdom," Dastgir said, adding that the troops will be on a "training and advise mission".
Rabbani, however, termed the statement "dissatisfactory", saying that no information can be withheld from the parliament. "This statement leaves us where we started off four years back [when the decision was taken]...What would 26,00 Pakistani troops do in Saudi Arabia and where would they be deployed?", he questioned.
Rabbani asked the minister why the decision was not shared with the parliament prior to making it public by the ISPR through a press release. "Leave aside the supremacy of the parliament, the question is whether the defence minister had any knowledge prior to taking the decision to send the troops to Saudi Arabia," the chair asked. Dastgir acknowledged the fact, saying that it should have come through his ministry, adding the decision was approved by the Prime Minister after months of consultations.
"Then you and the Prime Minister should be held responsible for the contempt of the Parliament," Rabbani remarked, reminding to the defence minister that Parliament being the supreme institution is the appropriate forum to make such decisions. In his statement to the House, Dastgir said that military cooperation between Pakistan and the Saudi Arabia dates back to nearly five decades, adding that Pakistan's armed forces have maintained bilateral and multilateral cooperation globally with our allies, partners, and friendly countries; especially with Muslim countries of the Middle East.
"Our engagement has included bilateral exchanges of troops and deputation of our training teams," he said, adding that the training of Saudi forces is governed by the 1982 bilateral Pak-Saudi Protocol on the Deputation of Pakistan Armed Forces Personnel and Military Training. He said that Pakistani troops have remained deputed and continue to be so today in various geographic zones and areas of Saudi Arabia. Around 1600 Pakistani armed forces personnel are on deputation currently to Saudi Arabia and an additional 1000 troops once deputed in KSA will undertake the training and advisory mission while remaining within the geographical boundaries of the kingdom, he added.
The Prime Minister approved the recent decision to depute additional troops for training and advising Saudi forces, adding that the assistance being rendered to Saudi Arabia is a continuation of the on-going support and very much within the confines of Joint Parliamentary resolution of April 2015. He said that Pakistan also trains Saudi armed forces personnel in various training academies and institutions in Pakistan, adding that nearly 10,000 Saudi armed forces' trainees have attended training courses in Pakistan.
Pakistan and Saudi Arabia hold joint defence exercises regularly, he said, adding that there are frequent exchanges of high-level visits and mutual defence consultations between the two countries, including visits by Prime Minister of Pakistan, Minister for Defence, Chairman Joint Chief of Staff Committee (JCSC), and chiefs of all three armed forces.
Leader of the Opposition Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, while taking part in the discussion, feared that the decision may negatively impact Pakistan's relations with the neighbouring Iran, saying that Iran is already under severe pressure from Israel and kingdom has even a tougher stance against Iran. Other senators including Farhatullah Babar, Usman Kakar, Jahanzeb Jamaldini, Mir Kabeer Shahi, Sehar Kamran and Siraj-ul-Haq also spoke on the matter, saying that the government must not lose sight of country's interests at any cost.