Mustaqbal Says Withholding Telecom Data by Govt. Contributes to 'Liquidating Opposition Figures'

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc on Tuesday said the government’s failure to provide security agencies with the so-called telecom data “represents a decision taken by a majority in cabinet to contribute to the liquidation of opposition figures.”

In a statement issued after its weekly meeting, the bloc said security agencies have failed so far to achieve any progress in the probe into the recent “despicable” attempt on MP Boutros Harb’s life due to “the deliberate withholding of information that can unveil significant details in the assassination attempt.”

“Insisting on weak, fabricated and made-up excuses to withhold this information from security agencies, or to provide them in an incomplete manner, is the conspiracy itself,” the bloc added.

Separately, the bloc said “the decision taken on Monday by cabinet to expand the investigations into the crime of the assassination of sheikhs Ahmed Abdul Wahed and Mohammed Merheb, under the supervision of the state prosecutor, indicates the beginning of a serious approach towards this case.”

“The issue still needs follow-up aimed at referring the case to the Judicial Council so that trustworthy investigations can be conducted ahead of fulfilling justice and punishing those who committed this crime,” the bloc added.

The conferees also lauded the government’s decision to deploy the army on Lebanon’s northern border with Syria as an “appropriate step,” although they criticized what they called a delay in “protecting the area’s residents from the escalating attacks of the Syrian regime’s army and Shabiha.”

The bloc said the decision would stop the smuggling of weapons and gunmen across the border and would “put an end to claims by some tendentious sides about an intention to create a buffer zone in the North, which is something we condemn and reject.”

Al-Mustaqbal also voiced its support for “the army and the state’s security forces that operate under the law.”