The Parliamentary Committee on National Security Services has stated that it will begin the process of obtaining the letter sent to Mauritius once the committees are formed again.
At a press conference, the Chair of the committee Mohamed Aslam expressed concern over the halt of the committee works and said that the process of obtaining the letter can only begin after the committees are formed. He assured that he intends to request the President's Office to hand over the letter at the first committee meeting.
Additionally, Aslam said that political parties have yet to come to an agreement on the composition of the new committees and that the issue has halted numerous important works at the Parliament. He added that the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has already submitted its proposal for the composition of its slots in the committees and the regulations require the Parliament to form the committee in accordance with the proposal.
The opposition has claimed that the government did not work in the best interest of the Maldives in its dispute with Mauritius regarding the Chagos dispute and cited the President’s letter to the Prime Minister of Mauritius as evidence. In response, Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim Riffath said the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) did not include the letter sent by the President to the Prime Minister of Mauritius as documentary evidence in the Chagos dispute. He clarified that the President had informed the Prime Minister in the letter that the Maldives will not change its stance on the issues regarding the southern exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and the outer continental shelf.