KUWAIT CITY, Aug 30, (KUNA): Kuwaiti National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi said Sunday the parliamentary committees were not entitled to convene meetings without official mandate from the parliament. “The committees can not discuss issues that are not included in their respective agendas,” he told reporters here. “But they can respond to a government demand for holding a meeting to discuss an urgent issue it was difficult to hold a plenary parliament session,” Al-Khorafi noted. Commenting on the criticism leveled against him by MP Faisal Al-Musallam earlier in the day, Al-Khorafi said: “I believe in true democracy and the freedom of expression even if there is personal criticism against me.” “We, as members of a democratic institution, have to defend the freedom of expression and the freedom of responsible press,” he said. “The publication law and the law on audio and visual media have regulated the business of mass media .. Dr. Musallam has been one of the contributors to the two laws when he was rapporteur of the committee on education, culture and guidance,” Al-Khorafi recalled.

Regarding his meeting with Minister of State for National Assembly Affairs Dr. Mohammad Al-Busairi, he said the meeting was a routine weekly one that aimed to coordinate cooperation between the legislative and executive authorities. The parliamentary committee on environment affairs held its meeting on Sunday, the committee on health, social and labour affairs will meet on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Al-Khorafi on Sunday fiercely condemned the failed assassination attempt that targeted Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister of Interior for Security Affairs Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud. Al-Khorafi in a cable to the Second Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, he criticized the failed assassination plot against Prince Mohammed which he deemed as “the hand of sin and treachery” and which he said “has undermined security and stability in the country.” He added that he, along with his fellow MPs in Kuwait reject these acts, which he said conflict with the tolerant principles of Islam and human virtues the international community aspires for. The Kuwaiti parliament speaker also pledged Kuwait’s commitment towards tackling terrorism in unison with Saudi Arabia.