Parliament committee on National Security and Foreign Relations have granted the parliament a period of ten days to decide on the draft agreement on exchange of prisoners between Maldives and India.
Chair of the committee, Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef requested during Sunday's committee meeting to assign a due date by which the parliament is to complete researching the draft agreement, for which Villingili MP Ahmed Usham proposed a period of ten days. The proposition was seconded by Dhuvaafaru MP Ismail Ahmed, and approved unanimously by all present members.
A sub-committee was established by the committee to expedite the research on the agreement, which includes MPs Usham, Shareef and Macchangolhi Dhekunu MP Ahmed Haitham.
Speaking at the committee meeting, Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef said the parliament has to ensure that the agreement conforms to the laws of the land. Chair Shareef in reply stated that legals opinions issued by both the Attorney General and the Prosecutor General have already been received, and a paper by the President's Office on the draft agreement has also been received.
International transfer of prisoners require the approval of the parliament before coming to an official agreement. The agreement on transfer of prisoners between Maldives and India was previously sent to the 18th Parliament, however, the term came to an end before a decision could be reached.
