KUWAIT CITY, Sept 24: MP Khalid Al-Otaibi says the decision issued by Iraq’s Federal Court about the constitutionality of the treaty signed between Kuwait and Iraq on the use of Abdullah Bay has false claims with no foundations, adding that it also ignored the United Nations’ regulations. He explained that the agreement between Kuwait and Iraq was signed in 2012 and approved by the legislative authorities of both countries before being referred to the United Nations. These aspects prevent any party from suspending the treaty.

The decision of Iraq’s Federal Court was laden with hateful words that exposed the Iraqi position towards Kuwait, and indicated that nothing of the Iraqi hostility towards Kuwait has changed despite the nonstop support provided by Kuwait to Iraq since the Liberation. The decision of the Federal Court unmasked the schemes and bad intentions plotted by Iraq against Kuwait and aimed at abandoning international commitments. MP Al-Otaibi stressed the need to continue exerting diplomatic efforts and adopting a firm position towards the Iraqi hostilities to conclude the permanent agreements on defining the marine borders. He called upon the United Nations’ Security Council to issue a strong statement against the Iraqi court’s decision.

Meanwhile, MP Abdulaziz Al Saqabi sent parliamentary questions to the Minister of Finance Fahad Al-Jarallah regarding the fraud crimes that have been on the rise lately and targeting individuals’ money through suspicious sites and applications. He wanted to know the role played by the Central Bank of Kuwait concerning these crimes and to what extent the public institutions cooperate with the Central Bank in this regard.

MP Al Saqaabi wanted to know if the Central Bank received complaints from citizens and residents regarding the electronic fraud crimes that they have been exposed to. If yes, he wanted to know the number of such complaints received by the Central Bank in the last fiscal year. He asked if the Central Bank conducted a study or investigated the issue to figure out the reasons behind the rise in such crimes. MP Al-Saqaabi asked if the Central Bank launched media campaigns to raise public awareness about these crimes and ways to avoid being victimised.

If so, he wanted to be provided with details of these campaigns. He asked if the Central Bank needs special legislation to control such crimes and why it does not ask The Shared Electronic Banking Services Company (KNet) to adopt more advanced procedures to carry out payments along with the entry of password.

Meanwhile, MP Al-Saqaabi sent questions concerning the same issue to the State Minister of Municipal Affairs and State Minister for Communications Affairs Fahad Al-Shaula, asking if the Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) has received complaints from citizens and residents concerning the fraud crimes committed against them through websites and applications. If so, he wanted to be provided with the number of such websites, applications, and phone numbers that are prohibited and suspended because of such complaints in the last five years.

He also wanted to know if CITRA has conducted a study to unveil the reasons behind the spread of such electronic fraud crimes and to what extent other public institutions are cooperating with CITRA to deal with these crimes. Furthermore, MP Meteb Ayed Al-Anzi submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Justice and State Minister for Housing Affairs Faleh Al-Raqaba, asking about the number of lawsuits filed at the Ministers’ Court and the number of acquittal rulings, if any, as well as the number of guilty rulings, if any.

In addition, MP Dawoud Marafie submitted parliamentary questions to the Minister of Information and Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Abdulrahman Al Mutairi, asking about the number of workers at Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs who were appointed based on contracts and wage system, and how many among them are Kuwaitis, children of Kuwaiti women, Bedoun residents and expatriates. He wanted to know the actual demand of the ministry for national workers and the number of Kuwaiti graduates who have been appointed in the ministry since 2020. MP Marafie asked if there are any vacancies in supervisory positions that have not yet been advertised to be filled. He also wanted to know the number of Kuwaiti and expatriate consultants at the minister’s office and in the offices of the undersecretary and assistant undersecretaries of the ministry. By Saeed Mahmoud Saleh Arab Times Staff