Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Services Mohamed Aslam has stated the opposition is spreading disinformation regarding India to create unrest and that their actions are a threat to national security. He made the remarks while speaking during the debate stage of the report formulated by the committee regarding the agreements signed between India and the Maldives.
Opposition Parliamentarian Adam Shareef submitted the motion to review the agreements for any threat to national security.
As such, parliamentarians representing the opposition parties expressed their disapproval of the agreements during the debate stage.
In response, Chair of the committee Mohamed Aslam said the Maldives and India did not sign an agreement regarding the Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) Harbor Development Project. Aslam also said Maldives and India had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and a Letter of Exchange regarding the Dornier aircraft gifted by India, and that if there was an agreement regarding the aircraft, it would be under the defence cooperation agreement signed in 2016. He also expressed concern that the opposition and Parliamentarian Shareef, who had served as the defence minister, are spreading misinformation regarding the country's close relations with India.
During the debate stage, opposition parliamentarians also criticised the committee for giving a presentation on the agreements instead of presenting documents.
Furthermore, Parliamentarian Hassan Latheef said senior officials of the Ministry of Defence and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) have given the committee the relevant details on the agreements. He said the agreements have tremendous benefits for the Maldives and that the committee report has shown that the agreements are not a threat to national security. He also said that Parliamentarian Shareef is clearly aware of it, as he has proposed 13 amendments to the report.
Parliament of the Maldives approved the committee's report with 53 votes in favour, without approving any of the amendments proposed by Parliamentarian Shareef.