The Parliamentary Committee on National Security Services has revealed its intention to conduct an inquiry on the Chagos dispute.
Speaking to PSM News, the Chair of the committee Mohamed Aslam said the purpose of the inquiry would be to determine whether state officials were negligent in the defence of the Maldives in the case. He addressed the calls from the opposition to obtain the letter sent by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Mauritius and said that any such work can only begin after the parliamentary committees are formed again.
Additionally, Aslam addressed the opposition's accusations of state officials selling off part of the country and emphasised the seriousness of the issue. He said that the committee is prepared to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the matter and that a meeting will be scheduled and the inquiry will be planned in accordance with the input and opinions of committee members. He also said the focus of the inquiry will be on the sovereign territory of the Maldives in compliance with the law and the details of the Chagos dispute case at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). He added that the inquiry will seek to understand the reasons behind the implementation of the delimitation.
In April, ITLOS ruled that the Maldives should have a majority share of the disputed territory between the maritime boundary of the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelago, ensuring that the Maldives did not lose the southern part of its territory. However, 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 Mauritius as evidence.